The Tribe
by Demon Llama Nerd
Summary: AU to "Soulbound". When young Iris flees the home of her "tribe" and arrives at the library, her new life seems perfect and she feels ready to leave the past behind. But her ruthless leader is out to get her back and soon, Iris will have to fight for her new freedom and for the lives of her new clan. "Once you're in the Tribe, you're in it for life."
1. Prologue

**Hi again, everyone. Welcome to the first chapter of my first AU-to-"Soulbound" fanfic; "The Tribe". But before we get to that, it's story time!**

**So, one day, I was brainstorming for "Soulbound" and I came up with an idea that seemed pretty creative. But as I thought about it, I decided it wouldn't really fit in the "Soulbound" universe so I gave the idea its own universe.**

**The idea has evolved a lot since then and I can't tell you how many times I've changed the names of the OCs.**

**So, the main group of OCs here is a "tribe" of rag dolls named after characters from Shakespeare plays and the main one we'll be focusing on is a girl named Iris. Each chapter will either be told from her POV or that of 3, 7 or her friend Corin. But this prologue will be told from the POV of Viola, the Tribe's seer.**

**OK, enough out of me. I hope you enjoy it!**

The Tribe

_**Prologue**_

Viola's POV

I stared through a hole in the roof of my hut at the moon. It was in the last quarter of its cycle so even if it _was _giving off a revealing light, it wouldn't be much and we'd still have some cover. But we had to be quick.

I got up off my sleeping mat and folded it up, stuffing it into a small backpack. Then, I set about crawling on the floor of the hut, collecting the few meagre possessions I had (a telescope and my white headscarf) and tossing them into the backpack as well.

With one last quick look around the room, I ducked through the curtain door and outside. Antonio was there, waiting for me with a backpack similar to my own slung over his shoulder. He took it off, handed it to me and I stuffed it inside my chest, along with my own backpack.

"Remember what Portia told us," I whispered, closing myself up. "The sentry patrols right around the outside of the camp and we have to be extra careful if Rosaline's on guard duty. I tried to trigger a vision to see if she is, but no luck." Antonio just nodded and stared down at the dirt.

I sighed and touched the brown patch covering the hole left behind by my lost eye. Most of the others weren't used to the patch or the fact that I now wore a headscarf yet. And, in all honesty, I didn't blame them; I found it hard to look at myself these days, too.

Sometimes, I secretly hoped I'd wake up as a girl with braided dark hair and two eyes, so I could tell myself it was all a bad dream. But I always destroyed this hope by reminding myself that I was just a seer with one eye who had to cover her head with a scarf.

"OK, Ant," I said as my arm fell back down to my side. "Let's get to it."

"Let's get to it," he repeated, nodding. We carefully crept through the rows of huts, being especially quiet as we rounded the largest hut that housed our leader's throne.

And then, we passed the hut closest to the edge of the camp; the one belonging to Iris. Young, stupid Iris. I scowled at the walls of her hut but quickly cursed myself for doing so.

Every time I'd looked at her since losing my right eye, she'd never failed to stare back with guilt. She blamed her strong beliefs in my visions of the other clan for my losses because she'd never stopped talking about them.

To hate this little girl, who always took her own mistakes far too personally, seemed inappropriate. It was Hamlet I truly hated, for doing this to all of us.

Suddenly, I bumped into Antonio and stumbled backwards a bit. When I dared to look up, I was almost certain I would see Rosaline standing there, pointing her bow at us.

I breathed a sigh of relief when my eye locked with Juliet's, though I thought I saw her hand twitch towards her sword for a second or two.

"Isn't it a little late to be wandering around camp?" she asked, an edge of suspicion in her voice. She waved her hand in a shooing gesture. "Return to your huts." Without waiting to see what we would do, she continued on her way around the camp's perimeter.

I almost couldn't stop myself from laughing. Compared to her twin, Juliet was a lot less fierce, a lot less loyal to Hamlet, a lot more timid and couldn't fight very well, even though she was supposed to be a warrior. These facts actually made me forget that she was supposed to be the older twin, sometimes.

"Hurry up, Vi," Antonio hissed, tugging on my arm. "If we're still here when she comes back round, she'll definitely figure us out. Now, come on."

"Right. Sorry," I replied. "Let's go." We walked quickly until the light from the fire pit in the centre of the camp was just a glimmer in the distance. Then, I opened myself up and we slung our backpacks over our shoulders before finally starting to run.

We continued on like that throughout the night, running on and off until the sun began to rise. We were sure no one else from our Tribe had been in this part of the city before so we decided we'd be safe here.

We approached a nearby outhouse and ducked inside it through a hole in the door. Antonio took a match head out of his pack, struck it off his heel and held it up. I looked about the place and sat down in a corner.

"Well," I said, "it doesn't look like a good place to live but no one said it had to be permanent. Though maybe, with a few homey touches, we'll grow to like it here."

Antonio took off his backpack and tossed it onto the floor next to mine but he didn't sit down. Instead, he looked quite nervous and hesitant.

"Vi," he began, "I know I really hate Hamlet but I'm not sure running away was a smart idea, anymore. If he and Rosaline find us, who knows what they'll do to us? And who knows what Hamlet will do to Jules when he finds out we've left?"

"Who knows what he'll do to us _and _Jules if we go back?" I replied. "Besides, it's not like she knew we were leaving, so maybe Hamlet won't punish her." I sighed. "We can't go back, Ant. We're only truly free out here. Once you're in the Tribe, you're in it for life."

"Well…" he stammered. "I don't know…" I sighed again and started rummaging through his pack.

"All right, where's your magnet?" I asked.

"Er…what?"

"Come on. I know you brought it." I laid hands on the metal object, pulled it out and tossed it at his feet. "I know it helps calm your nerves. So, you can use it." He picked up the magnet and stared at me hopefully.

"You really mean it?" I shrugged.

"I don't really like it, but as long as it keeps you calm…" Antonio smiled and nodded gratefully. He padded outside and a few minutes later, my ears started picking up his muffled moans and dorky giggles. I pulled my sleeping mat out of my pack, unfolded it, lay down and tried to get to sleep.

It was like this for a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

I bet you're wondering which Shakespeare play has a character named Iris in it. Well, in "The Tempest", the Greek goddess of the same name appeared alongside Juno and Ceres, performing a masque to celebrate Ferdinand and Miranda's engagement.

**So, anyway, we first see our heroine three years after the events of the prologue, going about her daily life as the bodyguard of the leader's wife. We're also introduced to some of the other main OCs.**

**Hope you enjoy this little introduction to Iris and the others in the Tribe. Don't forget to RAR (review after reading)!**

Chapter 2Iris' POV

I opened my eyes to the soothing sound of the rain on the roof of my hut. I got up and took my time pulling on my skirt, tying my bell around my neck and grabbing my tuning fork, hoping the rain would die down a bit by the time I was finished.

Yet, when I finally pushed the curtain door aside, I knew I was going to have to run to avoid the downpour when I headed out to the throne room. I tried, but the ground had been reduced to a sticky mess that made horrible sucking sounds when I pulled a foot out of it.

It took all of my will not to fling my tuning fork down in disgust when I got into the throne room. I was sure the first thing I'd hear would be Hamlet complaining about me trekking mud all over the floor but, no. Instead, I heard someone tutting.

"I don't mind staying in here until you come if it's a rainy day," Portia said. "Look at you; you're soaked to the skin."

"Yes. But I'm all right," I assured her. I forced myself to raise my head and look Hamlet in the eyes. "Sorry about the mud." He shrugged and looked a little annoyed.

"Oh, well," he sighed. "It's only mud. Just please, make sure you clean it up before it dries in, Iris."

I hate my name; Iris. It apparently comes from some flower and I wouldn't mind that if they had other uses besides looking pretty. If I'd been given Viola's name, it would've made more sense; a viola's an instrument and I love music. But I digress.

Portia insisted that I towel myself down before getting to work on the muddy footprints and I hung my skirt and bell up near a candle. When I was dry and I'd cleaned the mud off the soles of my feet, I began to mop the floor with the clean part of the sodden towel.

Just as I finished and collected my things, Portia went to the door and peeked outside.

"The rain's stopped," she said, turning her head. "We can go outside now if you want, Iris." I nodded and grabbed my tuning fork, padding out into the centre of the camp with her. The ground was drier than before but not so much.

Suddenly, an arrow whooshed past my head and stuck itself in the wall of a nearby hut, just missing a painted-on target circle there. A girl with long red hair laughed cruelly and pulled the arrow out of the wall, waving it teasingly.

"Almost got you," Rosaline sneered at me. She tossed the arrow back into her quiver and Portia hastily whispered that she didn't think the arrow almost hitting us was an accident. I nodded in agreement, glaring at the redhead's back as she entered the hut she shared with her twin.

"Sometimes, I really hate that girl," Portia said as we started walking again. "And I hate how Hamlet never lets me go anywhere unaccompanied. He's probably worried that I'll try to run like those other two did."

"Running _does _seem like a good option, though," I commented, keeping my voice down in case Rosaline heard. "Better than being stuck here. With no life."

"Mmm-hmm," said Portia. She adjusted the piece of copper wire that she wore around her head like a tiara. "You know, Iris, a lot of us are tired of having no life. Maybe we could all just leave and go somewhere where Hamlet and Rosaline won't find us." I chuckled darkly.

"Jules in the wilderness? Doesn't really seem like a good combination."

Jules (or Juliet, if you want her full name) was Rosaline's older twin sister, though she was more of a younger sister to everyone else. Both twins had served as our main defenders against the machines in the days before we set up our camp. But Juliet was a little oversensitive so she never really fought.

Portia and I sat down in front of a stone wall, at the base of which the camp stood. She hesitated a little before speaking again.

"I don't really feel comfortable saying this out loud," she said. "And I don't think I ought to, either." I patted her shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

"It's OK. I'm your bodyguard, remember?" I said. "You should know by now that you can talk to me and be sure I won't go blabbin'." Portia laughed a little and leaned over to whisper in my ear.

"Sometimes, I'd actually like to see someone punish Hamlet in every way he's ever punished one of us," she whispered. "He has it coming." Then, we both laughed.

Hamlet had a lot of strict rules but the gist of most of them was; "Do whatever the leader says or else". And when it came to the "or else" part, he barely hesitated. In fact, it was one of the few times when he actually looked happy or seemed to be enjoying himself.

It was actually for these reasons that Portia had married him. It had been against her own will but she was scared that he might do something to hurt the rest of us if she refused.

"I wonder if Antonio and Viola got married after they left," I said suddenly. "I mean, I don't think one ever showed an interest in the other but, still." Portia shrugged.

"Listen, Iris," she said. "You've seemed a little preoccupied these past few days. Don't you usually climb the wall to have a think if you're in that sort of mood?"

"I guess so. But you know the rules about being left by yourself. Even if I wanted to have a think, I'd have to leave you with someone else."

"I can do that," she replied, standing up. "I don't mind. Do you know where Corin's at?"

"He's either in his own hut or in Gertrude's or the twins'," I told her, getting up and going over to the wall. "Thanks, Portia." She smiled.

"No problem." And off she went to find Corin. I turned my attention back to the wall and started climbing, using the gaps between the bricks as footholds. Finally, I was at the top and I dangled my legs over the edge, looking out across the city.

Three years ago, just after Viola and Antonio had left, the plants had started to come back. I'd thought it had something to do with the green lightning we'd seen a few days before Viola lost her eye but hadn't said anything. It wouldn't have mattered anyway because Hamlet had been too busy trying to pull his cape out from a tangle of weeds at the time.

Since then, we'd gathered rubble from the surrounding area and piled it up around the outside. This was meant to stop the plants from growing into the camp and annoying everyone.

As I stared at the sea of green beyond the rubble, I wondered for the thousandth time what it was like for Viola and Antonio. Living in a world with no rules and no Hamlet, where plants could grow unhindered.

"Pondering again, are you, Iris?" Hamlet's voice almost startled me into falling off the wall. I steadied myself and gestured for him to sit but he shook his head.

"Yes, sir," I said, answering his question. "I can't tell you how sorry I am about the mud."

"Oh, it's nothing," he replied. "It's only mud."

"Yes, sir. How did you know I was…you know…pondering?"

"Partly because you were sitting on the wall but mainly because Rosaline overheard Portia say you seemed preoccupied." Panic began to take hold of my brain. What else had Rosaline overheard?

"Where's Portia now?" I asked, trying to changed the subject.

"In the throne room with Rosaline," Hamlet informed me. "And the next time she suggests going off with Corin, please try to dissuade her from doing do. I don't like the way he looks at her."

I came close to slapping my forehead and groaning then. Like Portia, Corin believed I was the only person he could confide and I felt the same way about him. And though only I knew for sure that he had a crush on Portia, he didn't hide it very well around the others. Not even Hamlet and Rosaline.

"Yes, sir," I promised.

"Good," Hamlet nodded. "Now, was there anything in particular you were pondering about?"

"Erm…well…not really. I…" I allowed myself a quick glance across the city before looking at him again. Hamlet scowled.

"There's nothing out there, Iris," he said firmly. I can't tell you how many times he's had to repeat those exact words.

"But Antonio and Viola-"

"Two miserable traitors," he replied, cutting me off. "I took them in and kept them safe. And they repaid me by deserting the Tribe and betraying the trust of everyone in it."

"But Viola's visions…the other clan…" I stiffened and quickly shut my mouth. Hamlet looked down at me sternly.

"We've been through this, Iris. Viola was no seer; she was a fraud who just wanted attention. So, I gave her the attention she deserved."

"Yes, sir."

"And as for that so-called 'other clan', it's all a load of nonsense. Even if it _does _exist, I'm certain that its members are undisciplined animals with no self-control. We, on the other hand, are a community made up of civilised and far-superior beings."

"Yes, sir," I said, nodding. "Forgive me, sir. I spoke without thinking. I know and fully understand that there's nothing out there. Nothing but two traitors, a couple of rocks and some trees." Hamlet smiled and nodded stiffly.

"That's right," he said. "And make sure you don't forget that again, Iris." I nodded and looked down towards the camp as I heard someone call my name. Corin was standing at the foot of the wall, his hands cupped around his mouth.

"Hey, Iris!" he yelled up to me. "I need to talk to you! Come down here!" I got to my feet and looked at Hamlet. He just smiled and waved his hand in a shooing manner.

"You better go and see what he wants," he said. I nodded, took a deep breath, spread my arms wide and jumped off the wall. Almost immediately, my skirt opened out and I began a slow, gentle descent towards the ground.

Old Gertrude had made this skirt for me (her fingers are a little stiff because they're rusting at the joints but she can still make them move like magic). It was made from six petal-shaped pieces of fabric, which were coloured green and white. And whenever I jumped from a high-up place, it opened out like a flower and allowed me to gently float to the ground.

When that happened, it was the only time I looked (or felt) as flowery as my name.

"What is it?" I asked Corin as I planted my feet on the ground again. In answer, he grabbed my arm and pulled me in the direction of Gertrude's hut.

"You've got to see this," he said. "But try not to stare. It really bugs Portia." He stopped in front of the hut and drew back the curtain door, letting me step inside before following himself.

Portia was kneeling on top of Gertrude's sleeping mat, clasping her hands to her chest, her face screwed up in pain. Gertrude was searching through all her materials in the corner until finally, she produced a small tube of wood sealant.

"Iris," Portia said. I went over and knelt down beside her.

"What's the matter?" I asked. "What do you need the sealant for?" Portia just frowned and held up her hands with her palms facing towards me.

In the centre of each palm was a long, thin, X-shaped notch; the same notch that I'd seen cut into Corin's palms countless times (he needed the sealant constantly, as a result).

"What happened to you?" I asked Portia, staring at her in horror. She just folded her hands over her own chest again and jerked her head in Gertrude's direction. I turned and peered up at the old woman.

"Rosaline heard the two of you talking earlier," she said. "And Hamlet wasn't happy." She gestured to Portia's hands. "This is her punishment."

I bowed my head and stared at the floor as Gertrude began filling in the notches in Portia's palms.

Once again, I'd gotten someone hurt because of my big mouth. And if Hamlet didn't even think twice about punishing his own mate, there was no limit to what he could do.


	3. Chapter 3

**One quick thing to note; this story takes place in at a different time than "Soulbound" did. That story took place in 1965 and said that the dolls were created in 1938, with the movie taking place in 1950.**

**In the universe of "The Tribe"; the dolls (by that, I mean both sets) were still created in 1938 but the movie took place in 1947 and the actual story takes place in 1950.**

**By the way, I know some people have been wondering how I manage to upload new stories so quickly. Well, it's partly because I have little-to-no friends and don't get out much but mainly because I'm a nerd with nothing better to do.**

Chapter 3Iris' POV

The next morning, Portia and I walked in silence around the inside of the rubble wall. When we _did _speak, neither of us mentioned her hands or what we'd been talking about yesterday.

Eventually, Rosaline came up to me and said, "Corin wants to see you and Portia. And, for some reason, you're supposed to gather with him in Gertrude's hut."

"Why would he want to meet up in there?" I asked. Rosaline groaned loudly.

"I don't know, all right?" she spat. "Jules had a nightmare and kept me awake all night. It drove me nuts. So, don't bother me, OK?" She stormed off and, as Portia and I headed for Gertrude's hut, I could hear her muttering about how I can never take a hint or something.

I can't stick Rosaline. But I guess that that's one of the good things about being around Corin and Portia so much. Because I know they can't stick her, either.

"Hello, girls," Corin said as we entered Gertrude's hut. Next to Hamlet's throne room (which also had two other smaller rooms attached to it), Gertrude's hut was the largest because, being the Tribe's elder, she spent more time in her own quarters than the rest of us did in ours.

The old woman was the person to see if you'd just been punished. Even when Viola had stumbled into her hut bald and missing an eye, Gertrude had made a fuss and practically forced her to sit in preparation for the healing.

Gertrude was white all over, her skin fastened by vertical stitchings on her front. Her long hair was made of loads of grey thread and her eyeglass casings were copper. She had a slight limp and always carried a long walking staff, on top of which was a piece of pale-yellow cloth secured with rubber bands.

"Right, Portia," the old woman said. "Let me see those notches again." Portia extended her arms, her palms facing in Gertrude's direction.

"Good," the elder nodded. "The sealant seems to have done the trick. But if I were you, I wouldn't put too much strain on them just yet. Give them at least a couple more days before you try lifting anything heavy or something like that."

"Yes, Gertrude," Portia replied as she took a seat. "Thank you." Gertrude smiled at her and slumped into a chair. Corin rose to his feet just as I, too, sat down.

"All right, Iris. Spill the beans," he said. "These past few days, you've been wandering around in your own little world. What's gotten into you?" I bowed my head and avoided the eyes of the three people surrounding me.

"Iris, it's all right," Portia said. "You can tell us. We won't say anything about it to the others."

"Is this really why you guys called this meeting in the first place?" I snapped, raising my head and glaring at them all. "Just because I've been daydreaming more than usual lately?"

"We're just worried about you, Iris," Corin replied, throwing up his scarred hands in admission. "We want to be sure it's _just _daydreams and you're not planning on doing anything stupid." I sighed.

"Fine, you got me," I groaned. "Truth is…I've been thinking about leaving. To see if I can find Antonio and Viola or maybe even the other clan." My jaw tightened and I glared round all of them again.

"I'm serious, you know," I muttered. "And if you're going to protest, do it quietly. Hamlet's right next door in the throne room, you know."

Portia just kept her hands on her lap and her head bowed. Gertrude stared at a small hole in the roof of the hut. Corin looked almost horrified.

"Iris," he said, "I don't blame you for wanting to leave. Who, in their right mind, _wouldn't _want to leave if they lived in a place like this? But why would you want to leave solely to find Vi and Ant? We don't know where they've gone. And-And going to find another clan that may or may not exist? That's just stupid."

"They're real," I insisted. "The other clan, I mean. They exist and I know they have to be out there. And besides, out here, none of us have a purpose. If we go to find the other clan, we all might be able to finally find our purposes."

"Iris, don't pretend you want to leave for any reason but your own personal gain," Corin said flatly, folding his arms. "You're always complaining about how you hate Hamlet and Rosaline and you hate being here. And how you wish you could go out into the world and find yourself some adventure."

"It's not just for my own personal gain!" I cried, leaping to my feet. "You could come with me and we could even bring Juliet along, if you like. Out there, we could have a whole new beginning. And, for all you know, it could be the best thing that'll ever happen to us."

"Ah. You have courage, child," Gertrude said suddenly. I turned my head and stared at her in confusion.

"Sorry?" But Gertrude ignored me and continued on with what she'd been saying before.

"And to have courage…is to have a strong heart and a thinking head. Never forget that, young one." I gave her a perplexed nod and turned back towards Corin, who sighed.

"Look, Iris," he said. "You're not just my best friend; you're also my little sister. And I just don't want anything to happen to you. If going out there to just to chase some crazy dream doesn't hurt or kill you, Hamlet _will_. So, please don't try to leave. Please promise me you won't do that."

"Fine. I promise," I said quickly. "Come on, Portia. Let's go." Corin tried and almost failed to fake a smile for me.

"Things will get better on their own in time, Iris," he said, trying to reassure me.

_Fat chance_, I thought in his direction as Portia and I left the hut. Just in front of us was the fire pit and on the side opposite to the one we were on, the twins were sitting with their weapons on their knees.

Two ginger-haired sisters who were total opposites. Sweet, childlike Juliet with her pigtails and red torso and that whining little prima donna Rosaline, with her almost-never-smiling mouth and pink torso.

Juliet looked up and smiled apologetically at Portia when she heard us come outside.

"I heard what Rose did to your hands," she said. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologise, Juliet," Portia assured her. "I think I figured out long ago that Hamlet wasn't above punishing me." She shot a brief glance at Rosaline before speaking again.

"Though somehow, I never understood why he wasn't above hurting someone like you or Iris."

Rosaline sighed and touched the white, bandage-like fabric tied around her right elbow. I almost sighed, too. Because though even the youngest person in the clan (me) thought of Juliet as a little sister, she was the only one Rosaline ever thought of besides Hamlet and herself.

She'd started wearing that bandage three years ago, when Juliet had been punished for letting two people escape and _then _refusing to obey Hamlet's orders to pursue them. But just as he'd been about to lead her away, Rosaline had jumped up and volunteered to take the punishment for her.

Since then, she'd worn that bandage to cover the scars left behind from the wounds she got that day. The same way Viola had worn a scarf to cover the bald head she'd had to live with since she took my punishment as well as her own.

"How could anyone ever hurt that adorable thing?" Portia whispered, though I wasn't sure if it was to herself or me. "By the way, Iris, can I speak to you alone in your hut?"

"Of course," I said, smiling. "Let's go." She took hold of my wrist and practically dragged me into my hut. Once I was kneeling on my sleeping mat, she took a quick peek through the curtain and then, kneeled in front of me.

"What is it, Portia?" I asked. She took a deep breath and looked me right in the face.

"When Viola and Antonio left, I helped them and told them how they leave while avoiding the sentry." I opened my mouth to speak but closed it again when she held up her hand.

"And when I heard you say you wanted to try and find the other clan," she continued, "I knew I had to help you, as well. It'll do you good if you listen closely to what I'm about to say. Now, pay attention; this is important."


	4. Chapter 4

**Welcome to 2013, everyone! You probably saw that I uploaded that short story "Newborns" on the 31****st****. I read over it after I uploaded it and quite frankly, I was disappointed. Probably because I made edits to some parts of it but then forgot to edit the rest.**

**So, here is Chapter 4 of "The Tribe" to make up for it. In this chapter, we get to briefly check in with the Library Punks and see what they're up to. And it would probably do you good to pay attention to 7's dialogue in this chapter. It will be important later.**

**3's POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!**

Chapter 4

**3's POV**

_Does it hurt? _4 flickered nervously. I wasn't sure how I should answer that. The transfer had been painful but not as much as I'd expected. Even so, the last thing I wanted was for my little sister to be hurt at all.

_Not much_, I replied at last. _You'll be fine. Don't worry._

_But what if it goes wrong? _4 whimpered in flicker speech. _What if the talisman just takes my soul and doesn't transfer it? What if I end up dying? _I stopped short. I hadn't thought of this at all.

I couldn't bring myself to answer her questions this time. I just gave her the biggest smile I could muster at that moment and hugged her tightly. I couldn't help wondering if it would be the last chance I'd get to do it.

_See you in a minute, 4_, I flickered when she finally pulled away. She nodded without replying and headed over to where 9 was waiting in front of the door. He took her hand in his own and they disappeared into the dark workshop.

I took a seat next to 7 and began tracing a line from my wrist to the crease inside my elbow. This new body 9 had made for me had looked very well done before the transfer and now, the quality of it made it easier for me to get used to it.

"You're worried about her, aren't you?" 7 said suddenly. I nodded. "I am, too. But if it worked fine on you, she should be OK."

Should _be? _I flickered. My adoptive mother sighed and chuckled a bit.

"Oh, come on now, 3," she said. "I'm just messing around. 9 studied up on this whole thing before he even started putting those new bodies together. He knows what he's doing."

_Yeah, I know._ I thought for a moment. _You really love 9, don't you?_

"Of course, I do. Otherwise, I wouldn't have married him. Why do you ask?"

I think 4 thought she was in love with 6, once. Maybe she really did. Maybe she was devastated when he died. I don't know. 7 stayed silent for a few minutes.

"I see," she replied at last. "But why are you talking about these things all of a sudden? You never really struck me as the romantic type."

From inside the workshop, I heard a faint sound that could only mean that 4's transfer had started and flinched.

I-I was just thinkin'…since she's older now, 4 could have a chance to fall in love again. Maybe even for real, this time, I flickered to 7. But the problem with that is there's no one else out here. 7 rubbed her chin with her thumb and forefinger.

"Well, maybe there is," she said thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure that there's at least one other person living out there."

There is? Who told you that? I asked. She hesitated.

"1," she finally replied.

1?

"Yes, strange as it may seem. Um…remember that time I was scouting and the Cat Beast attacked me?"

Yeah, I remember. It tore a hole in your back and now, you've got that scar.

"That's right," said 7. "Anyway, pretty much everybody came to see how I was doing after 5 and 2 fixed me up. Even 1. Though, of course, I wasn't too happy about seeing him when I was already annoyed about losing that fight with the Cat Beast. And that was when I happened to comment on how we would've killed it by then if 8 and I weren't the only warriors in the clan.

"And 1…well, he just started babbling semi-coherently about something or other. I don't know. It didn't make much sense to me. But, anyway, I did manage to catch the part where he said he met some old lady during the War. They quite literally bumped into each other but then, a machine started firing at them and he ran off before they even had a chance to say anything."

So, what you're saying is if what 1 said was true, then there's gotta be a few more of our kind somewhere out there? I asked. 7 nodded. But then, how come you never mentioned this before? She shrugged.

"I guess it never came up. When we went to live at the library, I was more focused on trying to kill the Beast since I had more freedom to study it. And while we were living at Sanctuary, 1 ruled out searching for others the second I suggested it. So-"

The workshop door opened and 4 came running out towards me, tripping over her new, clumsy feet as she went. When she finally fell right onto the floor, I knelt in front of her, helped her up onto her own knees and then, we just hugged each other with all our strength.

That was awful, she flickered, pulling away a little. I've never been so scared in my life. I thought I was going to die!

I know, but you didn't, I replied. We're both alive and everything's going to be fine, now.

"Well, it doesn't look like either of you are having any major problems with those bodies," 9 said from the doorway. "So, what do you think of them?" I stood up and smiled widely at him.

They're very well done, I flickered. Thanks a lot, 9. He chuckled and ruffled my hood.

"Good to know you like them so much," he said. "Now, come on. Let's head for home." He took 7's hand in his own and they walked ahead of us as we navigated our way through the dimly-lit house.

I think I might go to bed when we get back to the library, 4 flickered at one point. I'm tired after that transfer.

That's OK, I replied. 9 said we might feel more tired than usual for the first few days or so. It's just until our souls get used to these bodies, though. So, don't worry about it.

I decided then to keep quiet about what 7 had told me. Just for now. After all, there was always tomorrow, wasn't there?


	5. Chapter 5

…I don't know what the hell went wrong with 3's dialogue in the last chapter. Maybe the Doc Manager's allergic to italics now or something. But whatever the reason, it better not do it again.

**Anyway, here we see Iris leaving the camp and heading to the library. And I plan on giving you your first look at the situation through Corin's eyes within the next two chapters. 7's first narrated chapter will pop up soon, too (I think Chapter 15 of "Prey" was good practice for that).**

**Iris' POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!**

Chapter 5Iris' POV

I was on edge all evening after the sun went down. Portia sat with me beside the fire pit and told me some old stories she'd read in a book once, but I was so distracted I only heard titbits here and there.

Finally, the fire was lit for the night and everyone went back to their own huts but Corin stayed outside. I peeked through my curtain and watched him as he began circling the perimeter of the camp.

_Looks like he's on sentry duty tonight_, I thought. _This should be easy._ I let go of the curtain and grabbed my tuning fork from the corner of the hut.

I wanted to try sneaking into Gertrude's hut to get some needle and thread but I didn't dare risk it. Besides, I just couldn't bring myself to steal supplies from that selfless old woman.

I stepped outside and began to creep away from my hut, thanking the heavens that it was right at the edge of the camp. I was quite literally next door to the break in the bracelet of rubble that surrounded the camp.

"Why am I not surprised?" said a dark shape as it got up from behind the right side of the break. "Oh, wait. Maybe because I knew you weren't going to keep your promise the second you made it." I growled in frustration and balled my free hand into a fist.

"Damn you, Corin," I said. "Why do you always feel the need to get involved in my business? I can take care of myself just fine; I'm not a baby."

"I just don't want you to get hurt," he replied. "Is that so wrong?" I sighed.

"Last chance, Corin. Come with me or stay here. Your choice."

"Neither of us are going anywhere, Iris."

"How right you are," a female voice hissed from behind me. A second later, an arrow whistled through the air and went right through the skin just above the back of my skirt. I yelped and dropped my tuning fork just as the arrowhead pierced my front.

I had just enough time to pull the arrow out of my back and try to examine the severity of the wound before another arrow hit Corin. Right on the "C" painted on his right shoulder.

"Planning to leave, were you?" Rosaline teased as I spun round to face her. "I'm sure Hamlet would _love _to hear about _that_." I growled and threw the arrow at her but she casually deflected it with her right hand. Big mistake.

The other arrow embedded itself in the crease inside Rosaline's right elbow and just a few seconds later, a rock clunked her on the head. She topped over backwards, the arrow snapping in half as her arm hit the ground. She lay there moaning, too shocked to even call for Hamlet.

"Iris, get out of here," Corin said, grabbing my tuning fork and running towards the semiconscious girl. He was halfway to her when she sat up, rubbed the spot where the rock had hit and pulled the arrow out of her arm. Corin stopped beside her and looked back over at me.

"Get out of here!" He yelled the order as loud as he could without waking the whole camp. Though with all the commotion there'd been already, I wouldn't have been surprised if the others had begun to stir before he even got to Rosaline.

"But-" I started to reply.

"Hamlet!" Rosaline suddenly shrieked, interrupting me. "HAMLET!" Corin smacked her in the back of the head before she could call out a third time. She coughed, choking on the scream that he'd trapped in her throat.

Corin hit her again. On the top of her head, this time. Rosaline finally went down and lay sideways on the ground. The fire cast an orange glow on her left side, allowing me to see that her ribcage was moving and she was still alive. For now.

My brother and I both looked up as the curtain door of Hamlet's throne room fluttered. Our leader emerged and stood in front of the doorway, naked and looking very strange without his cape. I tore my eyes away from him and looked back to Corin.

"Run, Iris!" he cried, dropping my tuning fork. "Go!"

I did as I was told.

**~The Tribe~**

I stopped only once during the night. I probably wouldn't have if it wasn't for my wound and the fact that I'd left my tuning fork behind. As luck would have it, I ended up in a part of the city I recognised and managed to make my way to the house where I'd been created.

I didn't feel safe enough to fool around with a needle and thread just yet. So, I cut off a piece from a bed-sheet and wrapped it tightly around the area where the arrow had gone in. I could always mend and examine it properly later, anyway.

When I was finished with the sheet, I made my way into the music room and, to my delight, found another tuning fork in one of the drawers. I tied it to my back, headed out of the house and started running again.

Just before dawn, I caught sight of a building at the end of a long courtyard of statues. It looked quite important and was the kind of building you'd expect humans to use as a library or city hall. It was also very big, which almost made me smile.

That looks like a great place to rest, I thought. Even if Hamlet and Rosaline try to follow me, it could take days for them to find me in there.

I tried to run faster but I was tired and my wound was still hurting, so my speed didn't increase very much. By the time I'd gotten across the courtyard and up the front steps, the sky was bright orange, the greyish-white clouds lined with a pinkish-red tinge.

I began walking up a gentle slope next to a small pool, which was surrounded on three sides by a marble fence. There were huge mountains of books surrounding both me and the pool on all sides, so at least I knew I was definitely in a library.

When I got to the top of the slope, I thought I heard a scuttling noise somewhere behind me and spun round, expecting to see Rosaline's aim locked on my heart. But, no; there was nobody there. I breathed a sigh of relief and turned back in the direction I'd been walking.

The second I did so, I came face-to-face with a tall, white woman who stared suspiciously at me.

"Who are you?" she asked sharply. I stared back at her with large, frightened eyes and then, looked round her. Could I push past, manage to outrun her and hide somewhere? If she lived here, that would be unlikely.

"Who are you?" she asked again, louder this time. I gave a startled cry and tried to shove her aside, starting to run as fast as my exhausted legs would let me. She didn't move much but it got her out of my way for a second and that was enough.

"Hey!" the woman yelled. I could hear her behind me and tried my best to pick up the pace, but I starting to slow now and that didn't help much. Then, two things happened at once.

One; a burlap-skinned man stepped out from a gap in the fence and I ducked round him into the same gap.

Two; the woman caught up to me, grabbed the tuning fork and wrenched it from my back.

My body twisted round reflexively in response to the second thing and, in the same second, I lost my footing and fell backwards. The man surged forward and tried to grab my hand but he missed and I shrieked as my spine pushed against nothing.

I fell down very fast and the impact with the water was as jarring as I expected. I didn't even have time to catch my breath before I went under and, as soon I submerged, the water rushed into my mouth.

My wound was screaming as I struggled to stop myself from swallowing the water in my mouth. I knew that if I didn't get out soon, the water would soak through the sheet and get into my circuitry.

I clawed my way to the surface, spewed the liquid from my mouth and gulped down a lungful of air. I spotted a ledge at the end of the pool that wasn't surrounded by the fence and kicked towards it. As soon as I got to the ledge, I gripped it as tightly as I could and hauled myself ashore.

I yanked off my wet bell and skirt and the sheet and tossed them away. Then, I lay on my back and breathed slowly, too tired and sore and wet to do anything else.

I thought I saw a pair of flickering, yellow lights coming towards me as the darkness took over.


	6. Chapter 6

I think the next chapter will definitely be told from Corin's POV. And I'm sure you can all tell that he won't be in good shape the next time we see him.

**Anyway, this is the chapter where Iris wakes up and finally meets the Library Punks face-to-face. And that's all I really have to say.**

…**Wow, "The Tribe" really DOESN'T make me ramble as much, does it?**

**Iris' POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!**

Chapter 6Iris' POV

"No, you can't." The woman's voice broke through my unconsciousness. "How many times have I been through this with you two? Maybe when she wakes up, you can catalogue. But, even then, don't do it unless she says you can." A pause. "I don't know. Ask 9."

Two sets of footsteps got closer to where I was lying and then, when they stopped, there was another short silence.

"There was just an 'I' painted on her back," a man said, answering a question that I hadn't heard. "Nothing more." Yet another pause. "I wonder where she came from."

"Well, that's what _I'd _like to know," the woman said to him. "That and why she was so afraid of us. One thing's for certain, though; she came in here for a reason." The man groaned.

"Damn it, Sev. You just chastised the twins for wanting to catalogue her while she's still unconscious. And now, you suddenly have a million questions for her, yourself." That seemed to shut her up.

I blinked and opened my eyes to an unfamiliar white room. I pushed myself up and realised that I was in someone's bed. At the foot of it stood four people; the man and woman from the cliff above the pool and two teenagers who looked like they were twins.

_So, Viola was right_, I thought. _There really _was_ another clan out here, all along._ I looked from face to face and finally, my eyes rested on the man who had tried in vain to save me a few hours ago.

"It's good to see you're all right," he said. "Is it OK if I ask you your name?"

"Iris," I replied. "You know, like the flower." I suddenly remembered the hole Rosaline's arrow had made and peered under the bedcovers.

To my surprise, the fabric had been mended and you could barely see the stitchings where the hole had been. I looked up at the man again.

"Did you lot heal me?" I asked. The man nodded and went to stand on the right side of the bed.

"Yeah. I did. I hope it's OK," he said. Then, he raised his hand and held it out to me. "My name is 9. Pleased to meet you, Iris." I smiled and shook his hand and he gestured to the other three people.

"This is my wife, 7," he said, pointing at the woman. "And that's 4 and her twin brother, 3. They're our adopted children."

_Adopted children_, I repeated inside my head. _Like Gertrude and the way she treats Jules and Rosaline as if they're her real grandkids._

The new twins smiled and gave me a synchronised friendly wave. The woman waved, too but hers was a lot enthusiastic and she didn't smile.

"Sorry if I scared when you came in," she said flatly. "We haven't seen another one of our kind for three years and you never know who's coming in, at first."

"It's fine, really," I replied. "It's nice to meet all of you. But when do I get to meet the other members of your clan?" 9 and 7 exchanged an uncomfortable glance as I finished speaking.

I didn't understand it, at first. But then, it hit me like a ton of bricks; it was just the four of them living here. The others who were missing from the number line were all dead.

"I'm sorry," I said as soon as I realised this. 9 smiled sadly.

"No worries." 7 suddenly regained her composure and nudged him. He glared at her briefly and sighed before looking at me again. "Iris, I hope you don't mind me asking but…can you tell us where you came from and how you got here?"

"Um…well, let's just say things had gotten pretty bad back at my old home," I replied. "And then, I got that wound above my hip and decided I'd finally had enough. So, I left."

"Oh. OK, then," said 9, nodding. But 7 didn't seem satisfied with my cover story (which wasn't _entirely_ false, by the way).

"9-" she started before he raised his hand and cut her off.

"Oh, lay off, 7. If she doesn't like to talk about it, then we have no right to force her to." As his wife hesitantly closed her mouth and took a step back, I suddenly realised that I hadn't heard the twins speak at all yet. I looked over at them and they stared back eagerly, as if waiting for me to say yes to something.

"You two don't say much, do you?" I said with a smile. The one on the right-3-stepped round his sister and crouched on the left side of the bed, leaning forward until our faces were almost touching.

The yellow lights from before started flickering on and off inside his eyes, somehow forming the words; _No, we don't. We're both mute._ I jerked away from him and banged my head on the wall behind me.

9 laughed and said, "Sorry. I probably should've warned you about this when you first woke up." I panted and looked at him, rubbing the sore spot on the back of my head.

"What was that?" I whispered. He chuckled again.

"3 and 4 _do _speak, but they don't speak like we do," he explained. "They can flash lights through their eyes and use them to make words. It's kind of like Morse code."

"Oh," I replied. I turned back to 3. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you guys were mutes."

_It's OK_, he flickered back. _Back when we first met the others, they just assumed we were quiet at first, too. _I nodded and looked around the room again, taking in its other features for the first time.

The bed had two pillows on it and looked like it was built for two people, as well. There was a desk and chair pushed up into one corner and the area around both was littered with paper. In another corner stood a rack that a spear was standing against. One of the walls seemed to be hanging out of the room until I realised it was a door and we were in a cupboard.

I looked back to 7 and 9 and asked, "Is this _your _room?"

"Yes," 7 spat in reply. Her husband glared at her again, obviously not impressed by how rude she'd been since she'd first spoken to me.

"Sorry, Iris," he said apologetically. "What 7 meant to say was that while we _do _need our bed back, we prepared a room for you while you were still unconscious. And it's in the same area as the twins' room, so they're right there if you need anything."

"Thank you, 9," I said, smiling again. "You really didn't need to do that." I glanced down at the bedcovers. "Should I move in there now, then?" He shrugged.

"If you feel up to it. The twins will show you where it is. And-oh! I almost forgot; we moved your stuff into that room, too." I nodded, drew back the covers and swung my legs over the side of the bed.

I was a little shaky when I first stood up and took a step, but I was fine after a few seconds and the twins went to wait outside the door for me. Before I stepped outside the cupboard, I looked back over my shoulder at 7 and 9.

"Thanks, again," I said to them. Without waiting for them to reply, I turned around and began to follow the twins. On the way to my new room, they both kept glancing at me with that same eager gaze, especially the girl twin, 4.

"What is it?" I asked when I could stand it no longer. They came to a halt and I followed their example as they spun round.

_Is it all right if we catalogue you?_ 4 asked nervously. _It won't take long._ I stared at her dumbly.

"Catalogue me?" I repeated. "What does _that _mean?" 3 answered for her.

_We can do more than just speak with the lights in our eyes_, he began. _We can also use them to project images of things we've seen. It usually helps if we've catalogued them first, though._

"Uh…OK." I glanced down at my naked body and shuddered. It had to have been years since the last time someone saw me like this. "Do you mind if I get dressed first before you do it?" The twins nodded in synchronisation and we continued on our way.

They led me inside a huge globe and one elevator ride later, we were standing in front of one of its many pigeonholes. Said pigeonhole had a piece of white cloth tacked up over its entrance and reminded me of the curtain doors back at the camp.

The twins and I stepped inside the square hole and 4 struck a match before lighting a candle with it. The room was quite bare except for a bed similar to 7 and 9's, the candle, an inkbottle, a pen and some blank paper in a corner. The tuning fork and my bell and skirt were lying on top of the bed.

I crossed over to the bed, picked up my clothes and quickly got dressed. Then, I turned back to the twins with my arms outstretched.

"Go ahead," I told them. They rushed over and I tried to stay still as they flashed their lights in my face, along the length and breadth of the letter on my back and over the seams connecting my arms to my body.

Finally, they stepped back and 3 flickered, _Thanks, Iris. We have our room in another pigeonhole in this globe. Just come on up if you need anything._ I nodded and they left.

A few minutes after they'd gone, I walked over to the pen and picked it up. As I ran my hand along its handle, I couldn't help thinking that the wood felt familiar. It was quite rough and its colour and feel _were _actually quite familiar. Maybe I knew both from someone's hands.

No, wait. That was it. I _did _know both from someone's hands; Corin's.

"Corin," I whispered into the almost-darkness of the room.

The memories of my final minutes with him replayed themselves before my eyes; both of us taking hits from Rosaline's arrows, him knocking the redhead unconscious, me starting to protest when he yelled at me to get out of there, Hamlet coming out of his throne room naked, Corin screaming for me to run.

I pulled the cork out of the inkbottle, set a piece of paper near the candle so I could see it better, dipped the pen nib in the ink and began to draw.

There was no way Corin would be punished with a simple re-cutting of the X-shaped scars in the centre of his palms this time. Because this time, he'd let me escape, helped me escape and assaulted (and probably killed) Hamlet's most loyal fighter.

What were Hamlet and Rosaline (if she was still alive, that is) doing to him now? Tearing out one or both of his eyes? Removing his voice box and then smashing it to leave him mute for the rest of his life? Killing him?

When I'd finished the drawing, I searched around in the room until I found another drawing pin and tacked the paper to the wall. I sat on the bed across the room from the drawing and stared at it.

It was Corin; every last physical detail I could remember from his head to his shoulders. And, under the image, were the words "MY BROTHER".

I suddenly found that I couldn't look at it anymore and got under the bedcovers, pulling them right up over my head. Then, I closed my eyes and began to weep bitterly.

"I'm sorry, Corin. I'm so sorry."


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry for disappearing like that, guys. Guess I should've told you I was back at school on the 7th and weighed down with Controlled Assessments, huh?

Well, anyway, I guess you could say that this chapter is kind of the "End of Act 1" for "The Tribe".

**Between this chapter and the last, Rosaline will go to track down Iris, 7 will get herself into a bit of a pickle (again), Iris will explain her history to 9 and the twins and Viola and Antonio will come back into the picture.**

**These events will, of course, lead to bonding, romance, friendship, bloodshed…all that good stuff. So, look forward to it!**

**Corin's POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!**

Chapter 7

**Corin's POV**

Hamlet had two smaller rooms attached to his throne room. One was where he and Portia slept at night and the other was where he dragged anyone who was being punished.

The second room was where I woke up, my arms still tethered to the hooks sticking out of the wall opposite the entrance. The two small buckets were still in the corner with the knife and the floor was covered in a mess of water, ashes and my own brown fabric.

My feet were bound at the ankles and with one arm tied into the curve of each hook, I was beginning to wonder if this was what people in biblical times felt like when they were crucified. Except their limbs were nailed to wooden crosses whereas I could still kick out and breathe properly.

The curtain fluttered and I raised my head, glaring at whoever was coming in. I was almost certain that it would be Hamlet or Rosaline but, either way, I didn't care. The only thing that would stop me glaring at the person was if they told me Iris got away OK.

My face immediately softened when I saw Portia standing there. She remained still for a moment while her pupils moved in all directions, taking in the extent of the damage.

Then, she came over, bent down and began picking at the thick knots in the rope with her sharp, silver fingers. She frowned when she stood up to do my arms and quickly wiped some of the damp ashes off my chin with her wrist.

As soon as my arms were free, I flopped lifelessly onto the ground and Portia helped me up into a kneeling position. Then, she pulled me into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. I didn't answer her because Hamlet had slashed both my cheeks open and it hurt too much to talk. And my arms were too weak to even hug her back.

Finally, she stood up, pulled one of my arms around her shoulders and helped me out of the shed (and the throne room) and into Gertrude's hut. The old woman got out of her chair and they both rolled me onto one of the spare beds (the other one was currently occupied by Rosaline).

Gertrude went to work right away; sewing up my cheeks, mending the hole in my arm where the arrow had gone in, stitching new brown patches over the larger wounds and refilling the notches in my hands with the wood sealant.

"The scars shouldn't show that much," she said when she was done. "So, don't worry about that." She stood up and turned to Portia. "Walk around the camp with him a few times. We need to get the feeling back into his arms and legs. And don't listen even if he begsto sit down."

I sat up and carefully pushed myself to my feet. I put my arms out on either side and took a few clumsy steps as Portia went ahead of me. I stumbled a bit and almost fell on the way out but soon, I could walk without having to balance with my arms.

"Now, try circling your arms for a few minutes," Portia said after a while. I hurried to comply but she said nothing more. Then, suddenly, Juliet came running out of the throne room and punched me on my newly-healed right shoulder.

"That's for letting Iris get away and putting us all in danger again," she spat at me before scratching at one of the patches with her sharp fingertips. I jerked away from her as its seam came loose and then, winced as my body protested in response to the sudden movement.

"And that's for what you did to Rose," Juliet said coldly, inspecting her fingertips. On my left, Portia scoffed and I can't say I blame her. Even after all she'd done, even after what she'd tried to do, the psycho was still "Rose" to her twin.

Suddenly seething mad, I spoke my first words since Hamlet had first stuffed the ashes in my mouth.

"So, she got away all right?" I asked, remembering how our leader had ordered her to follow Iris. Juliet's sullen, hostile mask melted off her face and was replaced with her usual friendly smile.

"Yeah, she did. I don't know if she knew I'd been sent after her but it didn't matter. She'd gotten a good head-start and I couldn't catch her."

"So, she's gone? For good?" Juliet's smile turned upside-down and she shook her head.

"I reported back to Hamlet just now," she began. "And already, the situation's gone from bad to worse. He's not just letting it go because he's punished the sentry who was on duty when Iris ran, like he did with Vi and Ant.

"He's says Rosaline can have three days at the most to let her head get better. After that, she has to go out and find Iris. Something to do with the fact that Hamlet thinks three people leaving the camp is just too many."

"And I'll bet my headband that he's going to give her a punishment she'll never forget if and when Rosaline drags her back here," Portia interjected.

"That's not all," Juliet continued. "Until Iris get backs, Hamlet says that I have to be your new bodyguard, Portia." Portia nodded and followed the redhead back into Gertrude's hut.

I headed over to where I'd dropped Iris' tuning fork the night before and picked it up from the dust. I stared down at it for a minute and then, looked to the top of the wall. Where just a few days earlier, my little sister had been sitting, pondering as usual.

I said a silent plea to the sky that if that other clan really _did _exist, they were nothing like Hamlet said they'd be. And that they'd be kind to her and protect her from whatever was to come next.

"Good luck, Iris," I whispered to the tuning fork before carrying it into my own hut.

And somehow, I knew then that it could only get worse.


	8. Chapter 8

In the next chapter, we'll move forward to two days after the events of this one. 7 will narrate it and she'll also happen to meet Rosaline. And you can bet THAT won't be pretty!

**So, you can look forward to that as I leave you with this little present for now.**

**Corin's POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!**

Chapter 8Corin's POV

Three days later, we were all gathered in Hamlet's throne room and Rosaline was kneeling on the ground in front of him.

"Your task is simple," he said to her. "Either come back with Iris or don't come back at all. And don't dare fail me again."

"What happened the other night was a mistake," Rosaline said sulkily, getting to her feet. "It won't happen again."

"And here's why," Hamlet nodded. He stood up and reached for Juliet, who was standing next to Portia's throne. Rosaline stumbled back a bit in surprise.

"Wh-Wh-What are you doing?" she squeaked. I glanced at Portia and Jules and I'm pretty sure all three of our faces looked the same right now. We all knew Rosaline's voice _never _squeaked when she talked. Because she was afraid of nothing and no one.

"Giving you a reason not to fail again," Hamlet replied with a sly smile, holding up his right hand. "Here's a little pinch for Juliet." He held a small part of the skin on Juliet's arm between his thumb and index finger and squeezed it. Hard.

"Stop!" Rosaline cried as her sister squealed loudly and she raced up the steps in front of the two thrones. "OK. I'll get her back. For sure. But what if I don't find Iris but find someone else? Like Viola or Antonio?"

Hamlet scoffed exasperatedly and said, "Quite frankly, Rosaline, I don't care. Just make sure you don't come back alone. Or else, your sister will get something worse than a pinch." He let Juliet go and she immediately ducked behind her twin.

"I'll go prepare right away, sir," Rosaline said with a nod. She turned and headed out of the throne room, glancing to her right and giving me the evil eye as she went. Juliet went with her and a few minutes later, me and Gertrude followed suit.

I went and sat down beside the fire pit while Gertrude went into her hut and came out with a needle and some pink thread. At the same time, the twins came out of their own hut and Gertrude handed the needle and thread to Rosaline.

"It's for the journey," she said, putting her hand on the younger twin's shoulder. "Just in case." She squeezed the shoulder and Rosaline stuffed the objects into her backpack with a stony face.

The twins walked with each other to the break in the rubble. And then, they hugged each other tightly before Rosaline headed off into the distance. Portia came out of the throne room and we all went to wait for Jules in Gertrude's hut.

"The twins have never been apart since the day they were created," Portia said, slumping into a chair. "This must be harder for them than any of us can imagine."

"Yeah, probably," I replied. "Considering the fact that Juliet's the only person Rosaline likes as much as Hamlet." Gertrude rocked in her chair and stared at the hole in the roof.

"This is all getting out of hand, now. Things have been going downhill since Viola and Antonio left but this is the worst it's been. I just hope the girls will be all right." I shot her a weird look.

"If you wanted things different, you should've been leader," I said to her. Gertrude bowed her head slightly and sighed.

"Letting Hamlet take the position seemed like a good idea at the time," she said softly. "I was born an old woman, so I had no way of knowing how long I would live. And now, it's too late. If I try to take over for Hamlet now, there's no telling what he'll do to all of us. And we need to have a healer on hand for after he punishes someone."

Juliet suddenly came rushing into the room with her sword in her hand. She stood panting for a few minutes before her eyes fell on me.

"Corin, I need you to teach me how to fight like you do."

"What?" I replied. "What for?" Juliet suddenly looked a little cross.

"Isn't it obvious?" she said. "Rosaline's not here to fight my battles for me anymore and right now, we're all trying win a losing fight. So, I wanna be ready." I shook my head.

"Sorry, Jules. But no can do. I think you're a great fighter just the way you are. So, just put it out of your mind, OK?" I stood up to leave but then, Portia caught my arm.

"You know, Corin, Juliet's my bodyguard, now," she said. "Which means that I can't go anywhere without her. Which means that if you teach her how to fight better, I'll have to hang around you both." She let go of my arm, folded her own and grinned.

I sighed and shook my head with an amused smile. Clever Portia. She knew by now that I couldn't say no to her. I turned back to the redhead standing in the doorway.

"OK, Jules. You've got yourself a deal."


	9. Chapter 9

I've been looking forward to this chapter since I first started writing this story. But sorry if parts of it feel like a repeat of the thirteenth chapter of "Prey".

So, like I said in the last chapter, this is where 7 runs into Rosaline two days after the latter was sent out. This should end well!

7's POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!

_Chapter 9_

7's POV

It had now been about five days since Iris had showed up. She hung around with the twins quite a lot but, at other times, she just kept to her room. 9 went to check up on her every now and again and she seemed to like him OK, even though she kept saying she didn't want him going overboard with the whole "Welcome to the library" thing.

And as for me? Well, I'd made a few attempts to make friends but I still couldn't help feeling that Iris was hiding something. She wouldn't let even the twins into her room and every time someone tried to ask her about what her old home was like, she got very defensive.

On the morning of the fifth day, I happened to wander into the globe and glance up just as Iris stepped out of her room onto the elevator and took herself up. My eyes immediately flickered to the white-cloth door of her pigeonhole.

_Well, I guess it couldn't hurt if I just had a peek_, I thought to myself. _Besides, what are the chances that she's keeping somebody's head in there, anyway?_ I looked up and, as soon as I saw Iris enter the twins' room, climbed up to her pigeonhole and ducked right inside.

I looked around in slight disappointment at the layout of the room. Sure, I'd been in it when we'd first set it up for Iris but now, it just looked like the typical "untidy teenager's room".

Iris had left the candle burning and her bed was made but there, the resemblance to how the room had looked before ended. Scrunched-up balls of paper were scattered all around the floor and the inkbottle had toppled over, drenching a few of the balls in the shiny black liquid.

The whiteness of another piece of paper caught my eye and I stepped round the ink puddle and closer to it. It was a headshot of a male pinned up next to the pen and directly opposite the bed head.

As I continued to get closer, the lines of the drawing formed an image of the male facing forward with a smile, his broad shoulders relaxed, his eyes staring off into the distance. "MY BROTHER" was written underneath him.

"What are you doing in my room?"

I cried out a little in surprise and spun round to see Iris standing in the ink puddle, her tuning fork in her hand.

"Um…nothing. I was just curious, that's all," I told her before turning back to the drawing. "So, this is your brother, eh?"

"Yes. That's right," she replied. "He was probably going to come with me but when I was leaving, he got held up and told me to go on without him." She paused and looked at the drawing with a sigh. "I miss him. I should never have left him behind."

"Hey, don't be down," I said with a small smile. "Maybe you could go back for him some other time. Or maybe he'll be able to find his way here on his own."

"Maybe." She paused again and I turned back round to face her properly. "Say, 7, have you ever heard the story of Bluebeard?" I thought for a minute.

"No. Can't say I have."

"Well," Iris began, "when he brought his new wife home, he gave her a set of keys and told her she could use them to get into any room in the house she wanted. Except for this one room that he made her swear to never enter. And-"

"Let me guess," I interjected. "That was the first room she went into?"

"As soon as his back was turned, yes." I wondered what this had to do with what we'd just been talking about but then, it clicked.

"Oh! Right, OK. I get it," I said. "I'll get out of your room." I sidestepped round Iris and the ink puddle and headed out of the room. Then, I jumped off the elevator and onto the platform in front of the twins' scrapbook.

I went to my own cupboard bedroom and lay on my back on my side of the bed, staring at the ceiling. I thought about the things I'd seen in Iris' room and wondered if her brother was the reason why she hated talking about her old home, apart from the "things that had gotten pretty bad back there", as Iris called them.

I couldn't help thinking about how much effort and detail had clearly been put into the drawing of her brother. Had it hurt her a lot when she'd had to leave him like that?

My eyes fell on my spear and I got off the bed and picked it up. I stood holding it for a few minutes and then, stepped outside the cupboard and started towards the front entrance.

"Hey, where you goin', Sev?" said a voice on my left just as I got outside. I turned and smiled at 9.

"Just decided to go for a walk," I told him with a smile. "I'll try to be back before it gets dark but, even then, I probably won't be gone that long." He nodded and smiled back as he approached.

"That's OK. You don't have to rush yourself," he said. "I hope you enjoy it, either way." He planted a kiss on my lips and both my cheeks before walking off. I watched him go and then, started hopping down the front steps.

~The Tribe~

When the afternoon rolled around, it began to get a bit cloudy and I'd already gone pretty far so I decided it was time to head home. But, just as I turned around and took a few steps back in the direction of the library, something zipped past my head and stuck itself in a pile of rubble.

I pulled it out and stood looking it over. It was a small, skinny twig with what looked like a tiny, feathered tail and a sharp, flint-coated tip. Obviously, one of my kind had made this arrow.

Just as I realised this, another one came flying right at my face and I barely managed to dodge it at the last second. I dropped the one I was holding and flattened my left hand against the ground, gripping my spear tightly in my right hand.

"OK," I said in a soft, dangerous voice. "I don't know who you think you're dealing with, but you just made a _very _big mistake." I spaced my legs apart behind me and bent them at the knees, letting my spine relax. It was time to fight.

A girl stepped into the clearing in front of me, a quiver on her back and a bow in her hands. She had copper eyeglass casings that framed restless black pupils and long orange that hung in a flat sheet down her back. Her torso was pink and her legs were brown but her arms and face were white. Copper fingers sprouted from silver palms and a white bandage was tied around her right elbow. A small black "R" was painted on her chest, in the exact spot as 4's number.

Red (I decided to call her that for now because of her hair and the letter on her chest) stopped and stared as soon as she saw me. She tensed and her mouth broke into a slight grin. She raised the bow-which already had another arrow fixed into it-and aimed it straight at me before firing.

I twisted to one side to dodge the attack and sprung to my feet in the same second, beginning to run towards her at full speed as she mimicked the action.

I held the spear at arm's length and threw it in Red's direction, hoping that maybe she'd take the hint and back off before she ended up getting hurt.

But, instead, Red twisted to one side and swiftly reloaded and fired. This time, the arrow whistled right past my face and tore a thin, horizontal gash in my left cheek. Just as I reached for it, Red slammed into me and knocked us both to the ground.

We rolled around on the dirt like that for a few minutes, her trying to pin me down and me trying to kick her off so I could make a dash for my spear. Finally, Red brought us both to a stop, dug her elbows into my upper arms, dug her knees into my thighs and covered my mouth with both of her hands.

I struggled and writhed and shrieked underneath her but she was surprisingly strong and even if I _could _scream, we were too far away from the library for anyone to hear me. But, even though I _still_ wouldn't give up, Red seemed to sense that no help was coming and leered at me as she made this revelation.

"Boy, you _are _a fighter," she commented, digging her elbows and knees a little deeper into my limbs. "Hmm. It seems both Hamlet and Viola were right. There _is _another clan out here and they _are _a bunch of hostile little creatures."

I wriggled again and even tried to bite her fingers. That small grin appeared again as my attempts seemed to prove her point. Red thought for a moment, reached into her backpack, pulled out some rope, brought my arms together in front of my chest and began to tie up my wrists.

"Well, Hamlet _did_ say to bring anyone who'd be worth something to him back," she said aloud to herself. "And since I haven't found Iris yet, I guess you'll just have to fit the bill. Besides, I'd like to go home."

"OK," I spat at her. "I don't care who you are or what your deal is. But, if you don't let me go and get lost right now-" She silenced me with a hard punch in the jaw as soon as she'd tied the rope good and tight.

"Well, _I _don't care if you know your rights as a prisoner or not," she snapped. "But, either way, you have the right to shut your trap." She reached into her backpack again and brought out two pieces of fabric.

I twisted and squealed and writhed to be free as Red twisted the first piece of fabric so she could use it as a proper gag. If only I could get my legs out from under her…

I put up as much fight as I could while Red gagged and blindfolded me and even when she started tying up my ankles. And, when she went to retrieve her arrows, I lay on the ground, flopping like a fish on a line to see to try and loosen some of the bindings.

"Sorry about the rude introduction, my friend," I heard her say. "But my leader told me to do it if I found anyone he might like to see. Nothing personal but…you know. Orders are orders."

I felt her tie more rope around my upper arms, knot it at the back and begin to drag me along.

~The Tribe~

A couple of hours later, Red started panting a bit and the specks of light coming through my blindfold disappeared. I had finally stopped struggling after she'd gone out of her way to find every pothole between the place where we'd been fighting and…wherever she was taking me.

And now, I was actually coming close to nodding off. Not only that, but I was really starting to hope that someone (preferably 9) would come and kick Red's little ass. At this moment, I would've been glad to see even 1 do that if he were still alive.

Suddenly, Red starting pulling me in a different direction and pushed me up against something. I could feel the familiar roughness of bark at my back as she used her dragging rope and even my own rope belt to tether me to the tree.

"In case you get any ideas about running away while I'm asleep," she told me, yanking off the gag and blindfold and stuffing both into her backpack.

I thought she was going to untie my hands at least but she left both them and my feet as they were while she went to gather firewood. A few minutes later, she'd built up a small pile of sticks and leaves, thrown a match to it and laid out a sleeping mat on the opposite side of the fire to my sapling.

I was desperate for answers, now. So, I decided to start with a question I knew she wouldn't mind answering.

"So," I started, "what does the 'R' stand for?" Red looked up in surprise but, at least, she didn't glare or sneer.

"Rosaline," she said smugly, apparently satisfied for having enlightened the clueless captive a little.

"OK, then. Rosaline," I replied. "Where exactly are you taking me?" I suddenly remembered what she'd said earlier. "And how do you know Iris?" By now, it looked like Rosaline's curiosity was peaked, too.

"How do _you _know Iris?" she asked. I stopped dead and she grinned. "I'll tell you if you'll tell me." I put on the same smug smile and turned my head away from her.

"Forget it," I said stiffly. "I'm not telling you anything." I heard her tut and then, either lie or sit down on the sleeping mat.

"Fine with me. Anyway, you might think it a good idea to get some sleep, now. We're gonna have an early start tomorrow." I faced forward again and Rosaline rolled over until she had her back to me.

Soon, the only sounds in the area were Rosaline breathing in her sleep and the fire crackling. I stared at the flame until it suddenly rounded and turned into the sun. At the same time, my vision started blurring a little, so I looked up at the stars instead.

I made a silent wish for 9 and the twins to find me soon before I closed my eyes and soon fell asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Much like Chapter 8, this chapter's kind of the build-up to its successor, which is much more long and important.

**So, anyway, this chapter shows the guys back at the library going out to look for 7 but all they can find is her spear. Iris finds an arrow that Rosaline forgot to pick up and immediately realises what happened. She blames herself for the situation but then, 3 asks her to explain her past to everyone.**

…**Yeah, you guessed it! Said explanation will be on the table next time. And yes, I just HAD to stick a line from 1 in there when Iris guilt-trips herself.**

**Iris' POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!**

Chapter 10Iris' POV

I was in 7 and 9's cupboard, looking through the many pieces of paper scattered the latter's desk and chair. As it had turned out, they were all old drawings and most of them were scenes from nightmares that 9 had had.

In one, a snake machine with an old man's corpse sewn onto her tail was constricting a huge, much-younger man who was about the same size as Corin (height-wise, I mean).

In another, another old man was lying on the ground, his face partially covered by a cape and the hat on his head askew. His left hand (which looked somewhat like Gertrude's by design) was horribly mangled and he was very clearly dead.

And, in yet another, a small, stripy boy was kneeling with a burning cathedral in the background and he was surrounded on all sides by fire. His terrified expression looked so real it wasn't funny.

But most of the drawings seemed to be of 7, a guy who looked like a male version of Viola or one or both of the twins being burned, maimed, blown up, drowned or attached to a machine in some way.

The most horrific one, however, was of the Viola look-alike being held in a large, round machine's grasp as energy beams shot out from a metal object attached to said machine. The beams connected themselves to his right eye, the spot where his left eye had once been and his mouth and they seemed to take something out of him through those places.

I deduced then that the men I didn't know in these drawings were the five who had died and that whatever had happened to them had greatly affected the survivors.

Considering how 9 wasn't getting hurt or killed in any of these drawings, I guessed that he blamed himself for the deaths and for his family's grief.

Among the nightmarish drawings, however, were a few happier ones. These included younger versions of the twins chasing each other and 7, spear in hand with one foot upon a rock, wearing a bird skull on her head with a feather cape blowing in the wind.

"Iris, where are you?" 9 called from somewhere outside. "Could you get your tuning fork and come out here for a moment, please?" I put down the drawing in my hand, grabbed my tuning fork off the bed and dashed out of the cupboard.

9 and the twins were waiting for me on the fenceless side of the pool. 9 was holding a long stick that had a tealight in a small, glass case that he'd made himself attached to it.

"What's up?" I asked. "What do you need me for?"

"The twins and I are going out to find 7," 9 said to me. "Would you be able to come with us?"

"Of course, I would," I replied. "But what do we need to go out and find 7 for? And where is she, anyway?"

"She went out for a walk this morning but she told me she'd try to be home before dark. So, she should've been home just after sunset at the very latest. I'm getting worried."

Immediately, I was gripped by a feeling of intense dread and I was amazed at myself for being able to keep my face straight despite this. I knew it had been five days since I'd left the camp and if Rosaline hadn't been sent out yet, then Hamlet must've decided to try to be a better leader so no one else would run away.

"Oh, OK," I said to 9, barely forcing a smile. "Let's go, then." 9 nodded and we headed out of the library with him at the front, me at the back and the twins in the middle.

I couldn't help worrying that someone might see the light from 9's lantern but I just stayed quiet and kept my tuning fork tight in my hands. And, if Rosaline _did _happen to show up, I wouldn't run this time. Because this time, I would fight.

"Oh, no," 9 said softly. He ran ahead of us and crouched down, picking up a stick from the ground. We all got closer and I saw that it wasn't exactly a stick; it was 7's spear.

"3, 4," 9 started, "do you think that…maybe…there are still some machines out here that we missed?" The twins looked at each other, then at the spear, then at their adoptive father and then, at each other again. Finally, they just shrugged.

"No. No," I interjected, shaking my head furiously. "It's been three years since I've seen any machines around here. So, I kind of assumed they all died out long ago. And if there _were_ any still around, they're bound to have shown themselves by now."

"Well, you're right there," 9 replied, standing up and leaving the lantern on the ground. "And yeah, the machines _are _all dead. We got rid of them all three years ago but it was a bit of a hollow victory because…" The look he'd given 7 when I'd first woken up in the cupboard came back and I nodded solemnly.

"Oh. I see." So, it was just as the drawings had suggested. It _was _the machines that had killed those five people. Had the deaths of both the machines and those five had something to do with the green lightning and the plants coming back?

I picked up the lantern and slowly rotated, shining the light around the clearing for a moment until I spotted a mass of footprints on the ground.

"Look there," I said to 9 and the twins, pointing at the footprints. "That's a sign of a struggle if I ever saw one. And, from the looks of it, it was another one of our kind 7 was fighting with." I suddenly realised what I'd just said and almost screamed out loud.

_No, no, no, no, no_, I thought. _This can't be happening. It couldn't have been her. She couldn't have-no! 7 would've gotten away._

9, oblivious to my internal battle with myself, knelt within the circle of light surrounding the prints and carefully touched them with his fingertips.

"Yep. Some of our kind were struggling here, all right," he said. "And if 7 left her spear behind, then either she had to get away in a hurry or they…they…

"Anyway, the main problem is these footprints aren't fresh. They look like they were made quite a few hours ago at the very least. Plus, we can't tell which prints belong to who." He stood up and I nodded nervously at what he'd said.

We all started looking around the clearing to see if we could find any more clues after that. I was happy enough to look without the help of 9 or one of the twins, but I didn't need a light to see what was nestled between two small hills of rubble.

My heart racing, my eyes widening, imaginary sweat beading on my forehead, I picked up the arrow and started hyperventilating. It had been just as I'd suspected; Rosaline _had _been sent out. And she'd taken 7.

"What's wrong, Iris?" 9 asked from behind me. "What did you find?" Without a word, I handed the arrow to him over my shoulder and started backing in the direction of the library.

"Uh…3, 4, do you guys see anything wrong with this? Because I certainly don't." The twins took turns cataloguing the arrow but they just shrugged when they handed it back to their adoptive father.

Because only I knew what its presence here meant. Only I understood why we'd found it along with 7's abandoned spear. Only I could've reacted at the sight of it the way I had.

"She followed me," I said softly, staring at the ground. "Rosaline followed me…and she took her. This is all my fault. It's my fault."

"What?" 9 said. "What are you talking about?" I forced myself to look up at him, invisible tears stinging my eyes and making my vision blur.

"This is my fault. Mine," I told him. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You all went out of your way to welcome me into your home. And I repaid you by causing you to lose a wife and an adoptive mother."

"Iris, you're just talking rubbish and I really don't have time for stuff like that." 9 sounded cross. "So, you better start making sense. Right now."

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen." My voice wobbled and squeaked a little. "I swear to Christ, I didn't. A girl from my tribe was sent out to find me and bring me back. And she found 7. I should never have come. It's because of me that all this happened."

"Again, you're not making any sense. What do you mean a girl from your tribe found 7? What's this all about, Iris?" I shook my head and stared at the ground again, starting to back away from 9 and the twins.

"I should've seen this coming," I whimpered. "I'm sorry, you guys. I'm sorry I got you all into this." I raised my head and looked round them all briefly.

"Before I left, Old Gertrude spoke to me about courage," I told them. "She said courage takes a strong heart and a thinking head. And I didn't think!"

And, with that, I turned and ran back to the library.

**~The Tribe~**

Once I was back in my room, I knelt on the bed and slammed the side of my head against the wall a few times. Then, I flopped forward, buried my face in my pillow and began to sob.

Corin had been right all along; it _had _been stupid of me to come out here. And now, thanks to me, 9 and the twins would probably never see 7 again. Oh, wait! I'd probably gotten Corin killed, too! Not to mention, it was my fault Viola was one-eyed and bald for the rest of her life.

How could I have been so foolish? How could I have thought that finding another clan with Rosaline after me was a good idea? How could I _ever_ have thought that I'd actually be able to live in peace while Hamlet was still alive?

Suddenly, a voice spoke to me in my head. But I didn't know who it belonged to. Was it 9's voice? Corin's? Hamlet's? 7's? My own? All I was certain of was that what the voice said was true;

_You're a curse! A fool! Guided by pointless queries!_

I suddenly became aware of someone entering my room and looked up. 3 was standing in the doorway but his face was expressionless and he didn't move.

"I'm sorry," I said, sitting up. But 3 just shook his head and helped me to my feet.

Still holding my hand, he led me out onto the elevator and took us down to where 4 and 9 were waiting in front of the twins' scrapbook.

3 stopped and turned round with a slight smile on his face. He let go of my hand and gestured to the space between 4 and 9 and the scrapbook.

_Iris_, he flickered, _tell us your story._


	11. Flashback

Well, here we are. We're finally at the part where we can have a better look into the Tribe's history (it's very rambly, I know). Viola and Antonio return for a brief cameo here and they'll pop up again a little later, too.

**Next time, we'll cut back to the present day to see 7 meeting the others in the Tribe. And hopefully, within the next couple of weeks, I'll upload another short story called "Dying Wish" that stars 65.**

**Iris' POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!**

FlashbackIris' POV

The first thing I remember is waking up on my back. I was lying stark naked on a desk and I could hear someone approaching. Oddly enough, though, I didn't really feel embarrassed about that someone seeing me naked. Even after it turned out to be a guy.

"Looks like you're awake, then," he said, bending down slightly and stretching out a hand. Almost instinctively, I took it and he pulled me up into a sitting position. "Good morning…Iris."

"Iris?" I replied, jumping in surprise a little as I heard my own voice for the first time. The boy nodded.

"Yeah. Iris. You know, like the flower. That's your name."

"Oh." I wasn't sure how I knew what a flower was when I'd just been "born" but I didn't really like the idea of being named after something that had little-to-no useful properties whatsoever.

The boy stayed close to me as I got to my feet and took my first shaky steps towards the edge of the desk. I knelt there and saw that below the desk lay a human corpse.

The corpse was that of an elder male but I couldn't see all of his face. A chair with wheels lay on its side next to him and his body was sprawled in a way that made it seem like he'd fallen out of the chair when he'd died. And judging by the colour of his skin, he couldn't have been dead for longer than five minutes.

"I didn't know him very well," the boy commented from behind me, "but he was a nice guy, I guess. You probably would've liked to meet him." I stood up and came away from the edge of the desk and the boy finally introduced himself as Corin.

"I was created a couple of days before now," he explained after he'd told me his name and shown me the letter on his shoulder. "And, according to him, there were seven others before me. He said you were going to be the last one."

"Have you met any of those seven others?" I asked. Corin shook his head.

"No, not yet. I would've gone when I first woke up but I decided to stay behind to help him with you."

I almost wished he hadn't told me that. The idea of a boy touching my body before I'd gained consciousness was just too…wrong-sounding to think about.

Anyway, after that, Corin and I started exploring the house together. He'd told me that a "War of the Machines" was going on outside and that we should look around for stuff that could come in handy when we left the house.

One of the last rooms we went into before we went on our way was a music room. That was where I found my first tuning fork, although Corin wasn't particularly interested in a "weapon" that you couldn't stab anything with.

Just as we headed into the hall and began to walk towards the front door, a lamp on a nearby table suddenly fell over and rolled onto the floor. Corin and I jumped back against the wall to avoid getting hit and then, two unfamiliar faces peered down at us from on top of the table.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Corin yelled up to them. "What are ya tryin' to do? Kill us?" Two redheaded girls jumped down from the table and stood before us.

"I'm really sorry about that," said the one with her hair in bunches. "It was an accident. I hope you guys aren't hurt."

"No. We're both OK," I assured her. "I'm Iris. And that's Corin."

"My name's Juliet," the girl replied, indicating the "J" painted on the left side of her chest. Then, she pointed to the other girl. "And this is my younger twin, Rosaline."

The girl behind her had an "R" on the right side of her chest and her arms were folded over it. She leaned against a table leg with a casual, "sucks-to-be-you" posture that only the most popular girl in a high school could achieve.

And I'm pretty sure that I only had to look her in the eye for the first time before I knew that I'd just made a dangerous enemy and that she'd earmarked me for grief.

"Anyway," Juliet suddenly said, "you guys look like you were just about to go outside. And, coincidentally, Rosaline and I were just thinking about leaving ourselves.

"So, I was thinking…maybe we should all stick together. Just for now, at least. It's dangerous out there and there's strength in numbers. Plus, Rosaline and I both have weapons. So, would that be OK, do you think?"

"Sure, if you want," Corin said to her. He glanced over at her twin and grimaced, so I think he might've gotten the same impression I had. "You're not much of a talker, are you?"

Rosaline didn't answer. She continued to remain silent while her sister went and got their weapons and even when we finally headed outside. I guess she just thought that talking to me and Corin was beneath her, even though I hadn't heard her say anything to her twin yet, either.

We ducked and dodged through the city streets for the rest of that day, with the twins and I (usually the former) stopping occasionally to shoot, whack or cut the head off one of the smaller, ground-crawling machines. Corin tried to help every now and again, but he soon found that his bare hands were pretty much useless against the mechanical monsters.

When night fell, we headed into the nearest derelict building and Corin started picking through the rubbish bins just outside it. When we asked why, he simply said he wanted to collect some spare parts to make himself a weapon and left it at that.

Then, the next morning, the twins and I came outside to find him throwing two identical, homemade boomerangs at random targets that he'd built. He also had a small knife in a pouch tied to his hip.

"You can never have too many weapons in times like this," he told us with a smile when he saw us watching him.

Corin was a lot more involved in taking down any ground-crawlers that attacked us after that. His boomerangs were about as useful as Rosaline's bow and arrows when it came to scoring long-distance hits but his knife came in handy in close-range combat, too.

And, speaking of Rosaline, she still wouldn't say a word to anyone and Juliet looked like she was starting to get annoyed because of it. So, I guess Rosaline was lucky that we spotted the light from a tiny fire just as night fell (the war-torn city came to a standstill at night because both sides were smart enough to know that they could strike down one of their own in the dark).

Anyway, we started running towards the firelight and when we got there, we found exactly what we expecting; more of our kind. Two females and a male.

Both the females had dark-brown hair and a trio of buttons to fasten their skin. One had her hair in a single long braid and her buttons were orange while the other's hair hung loose down her back and her buttons were olive green. They easily still could've been twins, though.

"Well, hello, there," said the girl without the braid. "I thought we might find some more of our kind out here. So, who might you be?"

"I'm Rosaline." I jumped at the sound of the younger twin's voice. She spoke in a flat, "can't-be-bothered-enough-to-talk-to-these-people" tone like a popular high school girl, too.

"Those two are Iris and Corin," she continued. "And this is my older twin sister, Juliet."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Portia," replied the braid-less girl. "And that's Viola"-she pointed to the girl who _did _have a braid-"and that's Antonio." She pointed to the male.

"Are you and Viola twins, too?" Juliet asked, voicing my thoughts aloud. The girl with the braid laughed.

"Nah. We may look alike but we're not twins," she said. "And personality-wise, there's no way in a million years we could be twins."

From then on, we travelled together with Portia's group. As we did, there were often times when Viola suddenly stepped out in front of everyone and frantically insisted that we take another route. And since something bad always seemed to happen if we ignored her, even Rosaline had no choice but to trust her judgement when it came to it.

One night, while the others slept, I did some quick thinking in my head and realised that there was seven of us, now. But Corin had said there were nine, so that meant there were two more out in the city somewhere.

And as we continued on towards the outskirts of the city and the world carried on crumbling around us, we found those last two; an old woman named Gertrude and an irritable man called Hamlet.

We slept inside another derelict house that same night and gathered together to decide on our next course of action. The first thing we agreed to do was-since all nine of us were together-pick out a leader and we quickly deduced that either Gertrude or Hamlet would be the best option for the position. They _were _the oldest out of all of us, after all.

Gertrude quickly opted out of taking the position, so Hamlet took it instead (a result which was met by enthusiastic cheers from no one but Rosaline). And, once that was out of the way, Hamlet decided that we should just keep heading for the outskirts like we'd been doing before.

When we finally reached the outskirts, we began building a "camp" consisting of several makeshift huts at the foot of a stone wall. By now, the War looked like it was starting to get quite a bit nearer to its end and not many ground-crawlers bothered us anymore.

But just when we'd finished building a hut for Gertrude (we all wanted her to have a place first since she was an old person), Hamlet ordered us to help him build a throne room and said we couldn't build any more huts for ourselves until it was all done.

"What?" Corin exploded, storming up to him. "You can't do that! I don't care if you're the leader! Even then, you're supposed to put the rest of the clan before yourself! You can't just-"

Suddenly, Hamlet grabbed Corin, pinned him against a rock and yelled for Rosaline to fetch Corin's knife. Portia started towards him but Viola grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"No, you mustn't!" the girl with the braid cried. Portia struggled and pulled at her own arm but Viola held on very tightly while Rosaline stopped next to the two men. I felt Gertrude, who was behind me, take hold of my wrist and grasp it firmly as Hamlet stretched out one of Corin's arms.

Then, he whispered some kind of instructions into her "ear" and a devious grin spread across her face. She bent over my struggling brother and drew the blade slowly across his arm. Corin made a loud sound but he didn't scream.

"Let this be a lesson to the rest of you," Hamlet said to us with a smile when he finally let Corin go. "And now, if there are no more objections, you can all get on with building the throne room."

Gertrude mended the cut on Corin's arm and then, we all started doing what Hamlet had said while he sat and watched us from the rock, seemingly deciding to keep the knife. I waited until I was sure he wasn't looking before going to whisper to Viola.

"Why didn't you let Portia try to stop him from hurting Corin?"

"I saw what would happen if she _did _interfere. She would've been hurt in the same way. Or worse."

"I think we all did but that doesn't mean you had to stop her. She was trying to help Corin."

"No. I mean I saw a vision of what would happen to her. Like I did all those times I stopped us from going down certain paths while we were travelling."

"A vision?" I exclaimed quietly. "What are you…?" I trailed off and Viola looked from side to side for a second before whispering an explanation.

"I'm a seer, Iris," she told me. "If I see, hear or touch certain things, images of what might happen in the future start popping up in my head. Uh…does that make sense?"

"Not really." Viola face-palmed herself but didn't groan.

"Long story short, I can see the future when I'm under certain conditions. OK?" I nodded. "But I'll let you be skeptical if you want. I know it's hard to believe."

"No, no. I believe it," I assured her. I shot a quick glance at Hamlet and then, looked at her again. "And don't worry about _him_. Your secret's safe with me."

Once we'd completed the throne room, we finally got back to building huts for ourselves while Hamlet started wearing a black cape to apparently make it clear that he meant business (like he hadn't already done that with Corin).

"I fear that he may start looking for a queen, soon," Viola whispered to me after he found the cape. "But I can't really be sure. I can only see someone's future depending on what path they're on right now. If they change their mind, my visions change, too."

"Well, if you _are _right, I hope he chooses Rosaline. They deserve each other," I replied, making her giggle.

"What are you two sniggering about?" Hamlet yelled at us from his rock. "I'm quite sure that building the camp isn't meant to be fun."

"I think I heard Viola say something about visions and the future," Rosaline called out to him. "It didn't make much sense to me but I think _you'd _quite like to hear about it, sir."

"Shut up, you snitch!" Antonio said to her.

In answer, Rosaline dragged him over to Hamlet's rock and asked if she could punish him for what he'd said. But Hamlet just laughed, said that he only would've done that if the snide comment had been aimed at him and told Rosaline to leave Antonio alone.

Rosaline reluctantly obeyed and vented her frustration by toppling over a pile of materials that Portia had spent ages stacking. But, on the upside, both she and Hamlet seemed to have forgotten about the talk of the visions.

It didn't really matter, however, because once the camp was finally finished, Viola came running into my hut, looking excited.

"I've had another vision, Iris," she told me. "There's another clan like us out there. And all its members have survived the war, too."

"Wow! Really?" I said, getting up. "Where are they? Who created them?"

"The man who created our Tribe was an old rival of another scientist who created them," Viola explained. "And once our creator found out what that other scientist was doing, he stole a copy of an alchemy textbook from him and made a clan of his own; us."

"Well, OK. But if you said they all survived the war, then that means we can go and find them. And maybe they'll have a seer in their clan, too."

"I have a hunch that there is. The vision I had of them implied that-"

"A vision, you say? Could you possibly tell me what that means?" Rosaline sneered as she slithered into my hut. I grabbed Viola's arm and pulled her away from the redhead, glaring at her.

"You have no right to come in here," I said. "This is _my _hut." Rosaline simply glared back.

"Come with me to the throne room. Now," she ordered. As much as we both disliked Rosaline, Viola and I didn't want to make her madder than she already was so we had no choice but to do what she'd said.

She took us to see Hamlet and they both forced us to explain about Viola's foresight powers and the vision of the other clan. Hamlet called both things "absolute nonsense" when we were finished and warned Viola not to "make up anything like that" ever again.

From then on, Viola and I only discussed the other clan in private (and, occasionally, with our friends) but there were still times when Rosaline caught us. Eventually, it got to a point where Hamlet said that we'd both be punished if we ever spoke of it again and we had to shut up about it for good.

And that really wasn't easy, mind you. If we _were _allowed to leave the camp, we couldn't go beyond the boundaries that Hamlet had had Rosaline set up in the surrounding area. So, time seemed to go by very slowly and life became very boring very quickly.

After about a year had gone by since we'd set up the camp, it turned out Viola was right and Hamlet _did _decide to pick out a wife. Eventually, he chose Portia and gave her twenty-four hours to either accept or refuse. Portia, over Corin's protestations, decided to accept just in case Hamlet did something to the rest of us if she didn't do so.

A few days later, they were married and I was appointed Portia's bodyguard. And, for a time, life passed us by at a steady, peaceful and monotonous pace. Then, eight years after the wedding, everything changed.

We all ran outside one day when Antonio started yelling and got to him just in time to see green lightning rippling across the clouds. Then, almost immediately, rain began pouring down and most of the others ran for cover. I looked over at Viola and from the way she looked back at me, I could tell she knew something about it all.

I tried my best not to say anything but on the third day, when I could stand it no longer, I rushed into Viola's hut and panted a barely-legible query about the lightning.

"It's because of the other clan. Machines attacked them and some of them-"

That was all Viola had time to say before Rosaline burst in and knocked me off my feet. Her eyes burned with triumph as her face twisted into a mask of wild delight.

"Not another word!" she barked. "You two are coming with me!" She pulled me off the floor with one hand, grabbed Viola's wrist with the other and dragged us both into Hamlet's throne room.

Once Rosaline had told him what she'd heard, Hamlet sent her and Portia outside while he dealt with us.

"If I remember correctly, I warned you both about this several times in the past," he started, circling around us like an angry tiger. "And when the issue was raised once again eight years ago, I believe I made it clear that that was your last warning. Yes?"

"Yes," Viola replied.

"Normally, I couldn't care less about any imaginary games you might play with your little friends," Hamlet continued. "But today, I have had just about enough of this nonsense. Today, you will both receive what you should've received a long time ago."

"No. No, it won't be both of us." Hamlet and I both spun round and looked at Viola, who simply folded her arms and glared at us.

"Excuse me?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, daring her to repeat what she'd said. Viola's face softened under his gaze but, even though she unfolded her arms, she put her hands on her hips indignantly.

"With your permission, sir," she said in a more-civil tone, "I will take the punishment for us both. Provided that you let Iris walk out of this throne room unharmed, of course."

Hamlet looked at me and then, back at Viola. And I could tell from the intensity of his gaze that he hated the seer even more than the whole "other clan" hullabaloo.

"Granted," he said at last, swallowing the word like a bitter pill. "Iris, you may go." I nodded reluctantly and, with one last glance at Viola, rushed out of the room and into Gertrude's hut.

"Iris, whatever is the matter?" the old woman asked. I couldn't answer; already, my pants were turning into forced sobs that made my chest. My knees buckled and I fell to the floor, Corin drawing me into a tight hug.

I was still crying on the floor when Viola suddenly stumbled into the hut. And then, even Gertrude couldn't hide her horror.

Viola's right eye was missing with only a few sparking wires indicating that it had ever existed at all. There were a few rips surrounding the hole, giving the impression that it had been viciously wrenched and pulled until it had come out of its socket. And every last lock of her beautiful dark was gone, too.

Gertrude was the first to come out of her trance; she got up and ushered Viola over to her own sleeping mat, bringing her onto her knees in preparation for the healing.

I watched from the shelter of my brother's warm arms, invisible tears blurring my vision, as Gertrude sewed a brown patch over the empty eye socket and Viola sat stoically enduring it.

The seer was miserable was for the next four days. She barely spoke to anyone except Antonio, who had suddenly decided to start hanging around her for some reason. I tried to apologise to her a few times but I always just ended up staring at her, unsure of what to say while she shook her head sadly.

On the morning of the fifth day, Viola and Antonio were nowhere to be found and Hamlet called us all into the throne room. As Juliet had been on sentry duty the night before, he ordered her to track them down and bring them back.

But, to the astonishment of everyone present, Juliet folded her arms and turned her back on him.

"If you want them to be brought back here so badly," she said, "_you _go out and track them down." Hamlet's expression remained icily calm, unfazed by her cheek.

"I trust you know the penalty for this offence?" he asked her. Juliet nodded and calmly went to wait by the door to the shed where she would be punished.

"Jules! Jules, no!" Rosaline screeched. She shoved Corin and Gertrude out of her way and raced towards the door. As Hamlet approached it, Rosaline stopped beside her twin and pushed her behind her.

"Do it to me instead. Just leave my sister alone." Hamlet considered the offer for a moment and then nodded. He dismissed everyone else and we left him alone in the room with Rosaline.

Corin and Portia stayed outside and sat by the fire pit but Juliet and I went into Gertrude's hut with her. Within minutes, Rosaline was kneeling on the sleeping mat while the old woman mended a section of skin over her right elbow.

When the job was done, Rosaline tied a white bandage around the elbow and went back to her hut with her twin. I waited a few more seconds before going outside, climbing the wall and sitting up there for a good, long while.

**~The Tribe~**

The punishments and threats hadn't kept Viola and Antonio at the camp. They had driven them away.

And little did I know then that three years later, they would do the same for me.


	12. Chapter 12

Guess what, guys?

101: You're really a baboon and you're sailing back to your rainforest home?

No, no, no! I'm off to Edinburgh on Thursday and unlike the trip to Donegal last summer, I can't take my laptop with me. So, this is my last update for now but I'll be back on Sunday with another one.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure we've all been seeing this chapter coming for a while, now. So, I won't keep you any longer.

**7's POV in this chapter. RAR, enjoy and yvan eht nioj!**

Chapter 12

**7's POV**

"Come on! Wake up!" Rosaline's piercing, snobby voice broke through my sleep. "GET UP!"

"Uh…what?" I moaned. When I opened my eyes, I could see that the blindfold was back (so was my belt) and feel that I wasn't tied to the tree anymore. Also, my ankles were no longer bound (though my hands still were) and the gag was gone.

"On your feet!" Rosaline ordered. "NOW!" I shakily stood up and immediately, she shoved me forward a bit and held what felt like one of her arrows to my back.

"What are you doing?" I asked. "Why'd you make me stand up like that?"

"Because we're close to the camp now and I don't want to have to drag you again. Now, I'm going to let you walk but you have to turn whenever I tell you, OK? And don't you _dare _give me any more funny business or else I'll make you my new archery target!"

"Um…OK." I was a little annoyed at myself for being so compliant but I also wasn't stupid.

I knew Rosaline had a weapon while I was unarmed. I also knew that even if I _could _get away and get the bindings and the blindfold off, I didn't have any idea where I was. I'd only seen this area at night but Rosaline, on the other hand, seemed to know it pretty well. So, if I _did _get away somehow, she'd probably find me very easily.

I walked ahead of Rosaline with her arrow still digging into my back a little. I didn't speak and she didn't either, aside from the occasional whispered direction. After a while, I started to hear what sounded like people sparring in the distance.

"Stop," Rosaline said, pulling her arrow out of my back. I immediately came to a halt and felt her fingers start to pick at the knot in my blindfold. "Welcome to our humble home."

The blindfold came away from my face and I blinked in response to the sudden brightness. When my eyes had gotten used to the intensity of the light, I saw that I was standing at the threshold of an incomplete circle of rubble surrounding some makeshift huts at the foot of a wall.

The huts surrounded a fire pit and in the middle of it all, a man was throwing a couple of boomerangs at a girl with a sword who was dancing around him. They both looked up when Rosaline made me start walking again and they heard us approaching.

"Rose!" the girl cried, running over and giving her a hug. The man started walking slowly towards me and, as soon as the girl pulled away from Rosaline, I took the opportunity to get a better look at her.

She looked a lot like Rosaline except her pupils were softer and more patient-looking, framed by silver eyeglass casings. Her hair was in two bunches that were secured with rubber bands and a small black "J" was painted on her chest, in the exact same spot as 3's number. Beyond that, her appearance was pretty much the same as Rosaline's except for her torso, which was red.

"Who's this?" the man asked Rosaline, pointing at me. As I gazed at him, I couldn't help but think I knew him from somewhere. At first, I thought it was his height; he was just as tall as 8. He even had a "C" painted on his right shoulder but there, the resemblance ended.

8 had been made from a combination of burlap and some kind of white fabric. This man was brown all over. 8 had had silver eyeglass casings while this guy had gold ones. Where 8 had been thick, this guy was lean; built for speed and agility instead of hauling heavy loads.

"I found her out there somewhere," Rosaline said to him before she pulled yet another rope out of her backpack and tied it to my belt. Then, she turned towards the other redhead.

"Jules, would you be a dear and take this one into our hut for a minute?" she asked. "And Corin, could you go gather everyone into the throne room? I think Hamlet would like to meet her."

The man grudgingly walked off somewhere while Rosaline headed into the largest hut and "Jules" led me into another hut by the rope tied to my belt. She didn't say anything and she actually seemed a little afraid of me.

The hut she took me into was pretty bare except for two sleeping mats and a couple of racks for Jules' and someone else's weapons. It was fairly small but still big enough for maybe two people to live in.

"Do you speak?" Jules asked timidly. I stared at her and, in spite of the fear in her eyes, her expression was pretty friendly-looking. I didn't feel as if I could trust her yet, though. Especially since one of her cronies had more or less kidnapped me.

"Yeah, I can speak," I replied. "Quite well, actually." Jules simply nodded. "So, uh…do you mind telling me where I am?"

"The Tribe's camp," she said. And from the way she said it, I could tell that that was all I was going to be told for now. Dead end. End of conversation. Case closed.

I stood in irritated silence for the next few minutes until the brown man-Corin-entered the hut.

"Hamlet told me to tell you to bring her in," he said to Jules. Right after he'd spoken, he left and Jules started pulling me along by the rope again.

I was led into the biggest hut and made to kneel on the ground in front of two thrones. Then, Jules stepped away from me and I heard someone else come to take her place behind me.

"Look up," a male voice said from the throne on the left.

_Oh, great! _I thought. _Looks like I just found 1's long lost twin brother!_ I defiantly kept my head bowed and stared at the floor.

"Look at me!" the voice barked again. Still, I refused to obey. 1's attempts at keeping me inside the cathedral had had varying degrees of success but none of them had ever been enough to break me. And now, when my feet and eyes were usable again, what could ever convince me to give in?

Just as this thought crossed my mind, something floppy and wiry stuck me hard on my back between my shoulders.

"Hamlet is the leader of this clan," Rosaline's voice hissed. "When he gives you an order, you follow it with no questions asked. Got it?" I looked over my shoulder and glared at her.

"Why should I?" I retorted. "What does it matter to me if he's your leader?" In answer, she raised the thing in her hand; a whip made out of a silvery wire. She brought it down on the same spot she'd hit me the first time except a little more forcefully.

I stifled a cry as best I could and glared resentfully up at this "Hamlet". His hands and feet were made entirely out of silver and his eyeglass casings were gold. His skin was Hessian and he wore a black cape fastened with a safety pin. A line of vertical stitchings ran down the centre of his face and his sharp fingertips tapped impatiently on the arm of his throne.

On the other throne beside him sat a woman who could only be his wife. She wore a cape fastened with a safety pin, too, except hers was white. Her eyeglass casings were gold and her fingers silver like her husband's but her palms were wooden. A trio of olive-green buttons fastened her chest shut and a flat sheet of dark-brown hair hung to her shoulders. And around her head, just above her fringe, she wore a piece of copper wire like some kind of tiara.

"Well," said Hamlet, "you've managed to do one thing right, at least. Now, would you mind telling me where you come from?"

"Oh, no!" I snapped, not caring about the risk of being hit again for it. "There's no way I'm telling you anything until _you _give _me _some answers! 'Cause if you think I'm gonna sit quietly and let you hold me here against my will, you've got another thing coming!"

Hamlet's expression didn't change much except for a small, amused smile that suddenly appeared on his face. He nodded to Rosaline and she immediately whipped me once again.

"We can do this all day if you want to," he said to me. "If you feel like you're ready to talk, just let me know and Rosaline will leave you alone. Now, do you think you've been persuaded enough already?"

I tried to get to my feet but Rosaline just whipped me like crazy in response. I think I managed to turn around and maybe take a few steps but that was it. Within seconds, I was lying on my right side and Rosaline was alternating between kicks and whips.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried my best to resist the temptation to scream. Sure, 1 had had 8 beat me up once or twice in the past but even then, they'd at least given me a fighting chance. With these guys, my hands were tied up and I wasn't even standing.

Finally, the beatings ceased when I heard Jules say, "Please, Rose. Stop this. You're scaring me." I opened my eyes as an old woman crouched next to me and pulled me back up into a kneeling position.

"Really, Hamlet," she said as if she was scolding a child. "Do you honestly think that this will do any good at getting her to talk?" She paused and then continued. "Listen. Let me heal her and if she tells me anything you might want to know, I'll tell you. All right?"

"Yeah," Corin chimed in. "And-And I'll take responsibility for her. She can stay in Gertrude's hut if she wants but I'll keep an eye on her whenever she's not in it. How does that sound?"

"Hmm," said Hamlet. He sounded like he really _was _considering both their offers and I dared to be hopeful for a moment.

"Darling, if I were to make another suggestion," said a female voice that I guessed belonged to the wife, "perhaps her hands could remain bound. At least then, she couldn't really do anything considered a threat to us."

"N-No way I'm gonna-" I started to say before the old woman covered my mouth and hushed me.

"If I were you, child, I'd be doing my best not to make Hamlet angry again," she whispered. "Because if you do, it just might hurt your chances of not being treated any worse than you already have."

Those were the first even remotely kind words I'd heard since 9 had said goodbye to me. But a combination of the woman's age, plain appearance and very basic-looking design reminded me too much of 1 and made me try to recoil away from her.

"All right," Hamlet said suddenly, standing up. "Gertrude, you may take her back to your hut and heal her wounds. And, until further notice, she is to sleep there under your supervision, be accompanied everywhere else by Corin and remain handcuffed."

"Yes, sir," Corin and the old woman said in unison. I was helped to my feet then and led outside into the latter's hut. She made me sit down on a bed as she removed the rope tied to my belt and set to work.

She sewed the rip one of Rosaline's had made in my left cheek and then, did the same with the few tiny wounds left behind by the beatings. I didn't even enough strength to glare at her or Corin.

"Is it OK if we ask you your name, madam?" the woman asked when she was done. I stared at her open-mouthed. After everything that had happened to me since Rosaline showed up, she actually expected me to answer her questions?

"Don't worry," Corin said. "You don't have to tell us if you don't feel like it. And we won't report anything to Hamlet if you don't want us to." Against the odds, I actually decided that I liked him just a little bit more, then.

"It's 7," I said flatly. "My name is 7." And I made sure I said the same way Jules had earlier, so they'd know I wouldn't tell them any more.

"Well, it's…very nice to meet you, 7," Corin replied. "As you know, I'm Corin. And this is Gertrude." He gestured to the old woman and I nodded.

"Sorry about the rude welcome, young lady," she said, smiling. "But it's actually been like this around these parts for quite a few years. Ever since Viola and Antonio left, things have become a real Pandora's box in our camp."

I opened my mouth to reply but a yawn came out instead. As if on cue, Rosaline sauntered in a second later.

"Tired, are you?" she sneered at me. "Well, Hamlet just wanted me to tell you that you're to keep your cuffs on even when you're asleep. Just in case." I glared at her silently in response.

"Oh, don't look at me like that…7." She seemed to find it hard to call me by name. "You should be happy for yourself; you're Hamlet's honoured guest." I struggled to my feet and tried to head for the door.

"Honoured guest checking out, thank you very much," I spat. Rosaline pretended to laugh and moved to block my exit.

"You made a funny," she commented sarcastically.

"OK. I don't know much about prisoner's rights or anything but I think I'm entitled to know where I am and why I'm being kept here. It's a two-way street and-"

I was cut off as Rosaline grabbed me by the neck and pulled me close. She had a face like thunder and looked as if, like me, she was at the end of her tether with this whole thing.

"You're wrong, 7," she said slowly in a dangerous tone. "It's a one-way street. And, quite frankly, you're lucky Hamlet didn't say that your arms had to be tied to something before you went to sleep. I would've insisted on that."

Rosaline let go of my neck and shoved backwards. Corin just barely managed to stand up in time to catch me and then, the redhead left. The brown boy helped me back onto the bed and I heard Gertrude sigh.

Strangely enough, I only noticed just then that she had a long staff in her left hand. A pale-yellow cloth secured with rubber bands concealed whatever was at the top of the staff but I could easily recognise its shape. And I was pretty sure it was a spearhead.

"You should get some rest," Corin said to me. "If you like, you can meet the others properly when you wake up."

I didn't want to protest this time. But, as I lay down on the bed and faced the wall, I got the feeling I'd had when I'd first seen him again; the feeling that I knew him from somewhere.

Then, I suddenly remembered Iris' drawing and the face of the boy in it. And my eyes widened as I quickly put two and two together.

Of course! Corin was Iris' brother.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey! I'm home from Edinburgh and back with a new chapter, just like I promised.**

**I'm a little nervous about it, though. Especially after my previous experiences with the thirteenth chapters of "Soulbound" and "Prey". I just hope it's OK, at least.**

**Corin's POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!**

**P.S. While I was in Edinburgh, I went to see "Wreck-It Ralph" (which stars 5's voice actor, John C. Reilly) and it was AWESOME!**

Chapter 13Corin's POV

7 lay facing the wall for a long time but I couldn't be sure she was asleep until she brought her bound hands up in front of her face and her breathing became even less audible.

It couldn't be comfortable sleeping on her right side with her arms in that position but I don't think she trusted us enough to sleep with her face visible yet. Besides, I'd passed out while I was tied up in Hamlet's torture chamber just a few days ago, so I was no stranger to discomfort myself.

I heard the curtain fluttering behind me and then, Portia's voice spoke up.

"Corin-"

"Ssh!" Gertrude and I hissed in unison. The old woman pointed to 7 on the bed and Portia nodded and shut her mouth.

I took Portia's hand and led her outside and into my own hut. Ten seconds later, Juliet came in to join us.

"Well, that's things going from bad to worse, if I ever saw them," she commented.

"I know," I replied. "And it looks like Viola was right about that other clan. If 7's here, I'll bet that means there's more of them around somewhere."

"Not to mention, the last time Hamlet punished someone in front of everyone else was back when we first set up camp," Portia interjected. "It's been so long since any of us have witnessed a punishment that wasn't our own that it's downright unsettling."

"Iris is still out there, too," Juliet added. "I don't know if Rose is gonna be sent out to find her again but it's possible."

"We'd better stay on our toes just in case, then," I said to her. "And until we can figure what to do about 7, I think we should all do our best to look out for her."

"Well, yeah. I mean, it's bad enough that we ourselves have to live with that sort of treatment every day. This…7 doesn't deserve to have to do the same because she doesn't even belong here. She's got a life out there. A family, too, probably."

"Well, if you're right about the latter, Jules, then said family would most likely be out looking for her right about now. Iris, too, if she's met them. And if she _has_, then she's probably leading them here if she thinks that this is where 7 is."

After that, the girls left and I sat down to mull over the situation. What happened to us next depended entirely on how we handled things for the time being. And it also depended (to a lesser extent) on what Iris and/or 7's clan did to try and find her.

Juliet had been correct when she'd said that we were all trying to win a losing fight. But what could we do to tip the balance in our favour, even just a little bit?

Would we be able to find Iris, 7's clan or Vi and Ant in the wilderness somewhere? Would we be able to get 7 on board with any plans we made to get her out of here? Would we be able to get Rosaline on our side? Would we end up having to kill Hamlet if it turned out to be the only way to make life better for everyone?

I paused over that last thought. As much as I hated Hamlet, I was, believe it or not, quite shocked at myself for actually thinking about killing him.

I shook my head to try and get all those ideas out of my mind. Just for now, at least. All we really needed to do for now was focus on helping 7 get out of this mess Rosaline had dragged her into.

I left my hut and went back into Gertrude's. 7, still in her handcuffs, simply slept on as if she hadn't heard me come in.

"What is it, Corin?" Gertrude asked. I looked at the woman on the bed and then, at the older woman in the corner.

"Gertrude," I started, "we have to help her get home."


	14. Chapter 14

Took me a while to decide on what I wanted to do with this chapter. But I finally went with 7 being introduced to some of the others in the Tribe properly.

**Next time, it'll be Iris' turn to learn the history of the Library Punks. And once that's out of the way, our heroes will meet up with Viola and Antonio, 7 will start to build a bit of a friendship with Jules and a romance will begin to properly blossom between Corin and Portia.**

**7's POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!**

Chapter 14

**7's POV**

When I woke up, Jules and Hamlet's wife were standing in a corner and looking like they were trying very hard not to look directly at me. Gertrude was still in her chair in the other corner but Corin was sitting on a stool directly opposite the bed.

"We figured you might as well be properly introduced to the girls since you're probably gonna be here a while," he said. I sat up and gave him a puzzled glare.

"And what made you think I'd wanna do that?" I asked. Corin sighed, came over to the bed and crouched down.

"Listen, 7," he said, "you seem like the kind of person who has a free spirit. And I've noticed that you're a lot like me in the way that you react to Hamlet and Rosaline when they try to contain that spirit.

"But that 'won't-take-any-crap' attitude of yours is exactly why you've been given nothing but grief since you got here. Things were like that for me once, which is why I've learned to keep the opposition to a minimum as best I can."

"Get to the point," I snapped.

"Look. What I'm saying is, if you want my advice; keep your head down, play your cards right and you might just be able to go home in one piece."

"What makes you think going home will be that easy for me?" I challenged. Corin sighed and held his right arm up in front of my face. I squinted at it and managed to see several long, brown, barely-visible stitches criss-crossing it. I raised my head slightly and looked him in the eye.

"Scars from past punishments," he said with a solemn expression. "One and all." He got up and stood back just as the wife took a few steps forward with her palms facing in my direction.

"And it's not just the common folk that Hamlet feels the need to keep in line, either," she said. There was an X-shaped scar in the centre of each palm and they both glimmered in the light streaming in from a hole in the roof she was standing under.

"Ouch," I commented.

So, Hamlet also had his thug beat the living daylights out of the others in his "Tribe" and even his own wife? That was comforting to know. I mean, I'm not gonna act like 1's punishments were ever appealing but, even with 8 around, they were very rarely physical.

"7," Corin said as he pointed to the wife, "this is Portia. She's…kind of the matriarch around here, in a way."

"Don't get too excited about _that_, though," Portia said, putting her hands on her hips indignantly. "The only real power that comes with being married to Hamlet is that I can sometimes make his decisions a little less severe than they otherwise would've been." She paused for a moment and then, carried on.

"Speaking of which, sorry about getting you ordered to keep your handcuffs on twenty-four/seven. I had a hunch that suggesting that would be the only way that Hamlet would agree to leave you alone."

"Naw. Don't worry about it," I replied before shifting my gaze to the corner opposite the one Gertrude was sitting in. "And it's nice to see you again, too, Jules. Guess I should thank you for getting Rosaline off my back in the throne room."

"Um…it's 'Juliet', actually," the redhead replied. "And I suppose I'm a bit of an expert at getting Rose to behave. After all, I _am _her twin sister."

"Gertrude and I are pretty tight with the girls," Corin stated, drawing my attention back to him. "Good thing, too. For the past six days, it's just been us, Hamlet and Rosaline. So, at least we all had someone we liked around to keep life bearable."

"So, it's really just the six of you?" I asked. Corin's answering nod made me feel a little disappointed. "Oh. Well, I heard a rumour once that there might be some more of our kind out in the Emptiness but…don't take what I'm about to say the wrong way, but I kinda expected to see more of you."

"Well, I'm sorry if our small numbers aren't to your liking, 7." Corin was suddenly very mad over nothing. "But I'll have you know it's not exactly something we can help. A girl and the only other guy besides Hamlet and me left three years ago. And six days ago, my sister decided to go off on some crazy adventure 'cause the girl inspired her with some crazy talk of other clans and green lightning."

"Sister?" I suddenly remembered the revelation I'd had before I'd fallen asleep and gasped. "Do you mean Iris? 'Cause she was staying with me and my family before I bumped into Rosaline. And-And she drew a picture of you, Corin. So, would I be correct in saying that this is where she used to live?"

Corin gasped and shared a quick glance with Portia. Then, he looked at me with his mouth still hanging open and I wondered if he didn't know whether to grin or start crying right about now.

He came over to the bed, dropped onto his knees and took my bound hands in both of his own before looking me right in the eye.

"Iris is back with your family?" he asked softly, his eyes widening when I confirmed this with a nod. "Well, is she all right? She was hurt when she ran off. And-And this family of yours…will they go looking for you? 'Cause-Cause Iris could lead them here and-and-"

"Slow down already! Jeez!" I interjected. "Yeah, Iris is fine. She's back at the library with 9 and the twins."

"Who are _they_?"

"My husband and adopted kids," I explained. "The twins are called 3 and 4. They're mute but they can communicate with us by flashing lights through their eyes." Corin smirked.

"And you said _our _numbers were small," he commented. "From the sounds of it, it was just the four of you before Iris showed up." I frowned.

"Uh…yeah. It _was_. There were five others, too. Before…before the machines…"

"You can stop talking now." Portia interrupted before I could figure out how to finish my sentence but she didn't say it in a rude way. "Is this too difficult?" I nodded and lay down again, facing the ceiling.

"We should probably go," Portia said to someone, most likely Corin and Juliet. "I think all this questioning and talk is just making her feel worse. Gertrude, you keep an eye on her, OK?"

"No problem," I heard the old woman reply. "And if either of us need help with anything, I'll be sure to let you know."

"OK. I'll come back later and see if she wants to stretch her legs," Corin added. I heard him and the girls leave and then, I was alone with Gertrude.

I looked over at her, expecting her to say something stupid like how I was safe with her or how I'd be home soon and everything would be OK. But she didn't. She just said I could talk to her if I felt like it and started playing with a piece of ribbon to keep herself occupied.

Gertrude's proposition seemed to work well for both of us. She'd looked like she was bored even before she began her silly game and was clearly ready to listen to anything I had to say. I, on the other hand, continued to lie on my back and stare mutely at the ceiling. I rarely felt like talking if someone had just brought the others up, anyway.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd been made to feel this useless. And even if I _could_ fight back, I knew I'd never be able to actually kill Hamlet or Rosaline. The machines had been one thing but I don't think I'd ever have it in me to kill one of my own kind.

Even when I'd attacked 1 three years ago, one look at the terror written on his face after 9 yelled at me had been enough to snap me out of it and make me realise what I'd just tried to do. What I'd almost done.

I thought about what Corin had said about Iris leading my family here. Sure, it was possible but I could only hope that they would be well-armed and she would give them enough information to properly know what they were up against.

So basically, my only option was to pin my hopes on Iris and her friends.

_Get here soon, 9_, I thought towards the hole in the roof Portia had been standing under earlier. _Please._


	15. Chapter 15

Hey, guys. Just a heads-up; this is the point where a kind of school kids' romance starts up between 3 and Iris.

I say "school kids' romance" because they're supposed to be the same mental age. And what do I mean by that? Well, remember how in the "Soulbound" universe, 16 and the other second-generation stitchpunks were always mentally (and physically) twice their chronological age?

3 and Iris are like that in the sense that they both have teenage minds in this story.

Anyhow, 3's POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!

_Chapter 15_

3's POV

I couldn't sleep. Iris had insisted on taking the first watch and it was probably getting close to when 9 was due to take over for her. I looked over at my adoptive father and even though he wasn't that close to me, I could hear him whispering 7's name in his sleep every now and again.

I turned away from him and looked up at the stars, tapping my fingers on the dirt beneath my blanket. A few seconds later, an irritated hand slapped my face and made me sit up. 4, who had been lying on my left side, glared sleepily at me.

_Oh, do stop fidgeting, 3!_ she flickered. _You're keeping me awake._

_Sorry, sis_, I replied. _I don't mean to. I'm just having a bit of insomnia over here._

_Well, can you at least go for a walk for a few minutes to tire yourself out a bit? I'm _really _not appreciating you bumping me every time I'm about to drift off._

4 lay down again and I got to my feet, not bothering to tidy my blanket up a bit. I immediately made a beeline for where Iris was sitting and plonked myself down next to her.

"Hi," she said sadly. "What can I do you for?"

_Can't sleep_, I explained. _4's getting annoyed._

"Oh." Iris sighed. "I'm sorry, 3. I'm sorry we've had to come out here on a mission that I'm responsible for saddling us with. I didn't mean for this to happen. And now, because of me, you're in danger of losing the only mother you've ever known."

_It's not your fault, Iris_, I replied, sliding an arm around her shoulders. _And trust me, it's not the first time we've almost lost 7. She's been in worse danger than this at least once before._

"Really?" Iris looked about as surprised as she sounded. "What happened?"

_Well, the last time this happened, the others…_

I trailed off and Iris stared at me with a confused expression.

"Why do you guys do that?" she asked.  
_Do what?_

"Say something that sounds like you're about to talk about your dead and then bail from it." She paused. "I found some drawings of scenes out of nightmares in 9's room. And a lot of them showed five people I didn't know in all kinds of danger. Are those the five you lost?" I nodded.

_I can tell you who each one was, if you like_, I told her. _Just describe them for me and I'll tell you their names._

"All right. Well, there was a man with one eye and a boy with a stripy pattern…"

_5 and 6_, I replied.

"Two old men; one sewn onto the tail of a snake machine and one with a cape…"

_1 and 2._

"OK. There's just one left, now. And that's this big guy that the snake machine was trying to squeeze to death in one of the pictures. Judging by the names I know so far, I'm guessing his name would be…8?"

_Yeah. That's right_, I confirmed.

Iris hesitated and shuffled her feet. Behind us, I heard 9 moan and roll over in his sleep. I glanced at 4 to see if I was still keeping her awake by making Iris talk but she had her back to me.

"Listen, 3," Iris said. "I know it's none of my business, but how did you lose those five? What's the story of _this _clan?" Although her curiosity was clear, her tone neither encouraged nor discouraged me to cough up an explanation.

_Hmm_, I flickered. _I suppose it's only fair seeing how you told me yours. But I'll have to warn you; this is a story that doesn't have a happy ending._ Iris scoffed.

"That's OK. So is mine." We shared a look and then, I began flickering to her again.

_Three years ago, the first eight members of our clan to be created were living at a cathedral. Or, at least, 1, 2, 5, 6 and 8 were. 4, 7 and I had been living at the library for seven years around that time._

_Anyway, 1 was the leader and 8 his bodyguard. 5 had lost his left eye during the War of the Machines. And 6…well, he was a seer, like your Viola. But unfortunately, nobody really believed his visions except, perhaps, 4._

_Two years after we first arrived at the cathedral, 7 got tired of the way 1 governed us and she upped and left and took 4 and me with her. And while we spent our days cataloguing all the books in the library, 7 spent hers to trying to slay a machine called the Cat Beast._

_After we'd all been alive for nine years, 9 finally awakened and he met 2 out in the Emptiness. But the Cat Beast attacked them and took 2 to a factory where 5 and 9 found him later._

_7 followed them to the factory and finally succeeded in slaying the Cat Beast but then, 9 found the talisman that had given our clan life. He also found a socket that looked like the talisman was meant to go into it. Out of curiosity, he plugged the talisman in and accidentally reactivated the Machine that had started the War in the process._

_2 tried to pull the talisman out of the socket just as the Machine was starting to come on but it was no use and he ended up getting his soul taken by the Machine._

I paused for a second, expecting Iris to look shocked. But her face was calm and smooth and she seemed likeshe was taking everything in just fine. She gave me a look that told me to carry on and I continued.

_Anyway, 7 brought 5 and 9 back to the library but 4 and I couldn't come up with any answers when 9 wondered about the symbols on the talisman. 5 told him he should speak with 6 since the latter drew the symbols all the time but 7 refused to go back to 1._

_Eventually, the library got attacked by a snake machine with 2's corpse sewn onto her tail. 5 and 9 managed to scare her off but not before she succeeded in capturing 7 and 8. The rest of us held a funeral for 2 and then, we headed to the factory to save our friends._

_9 snuck in and got 7 and the rest of us managed to destroy the factory by blowing it up but 8 got his soul taken before anyone could do anything. We all thought the Machine died in the explosion but somehow, it survived the explosion and crawled out of the rubble._

_After it took the souls out of 5 and 6, 9 went back to the Scientist's house while we tried to look for a way to destroy the Machine for good. We all helped to operate an old canon but 9 came back and told us how the talisman worked and that we could use it to get our friends' souls back._

_9's initial plan was to let the Machine take his soul so 7 could nab the talisman but, at the last second, 1 shoved him out of the way and got killed instead. 9 succeeded in using the talisman to rescue the souls and he killed the Machine in the process._

_And that night, as the sun was going down, we released the souls and said goodbye to them all. They flew into the sky and, of course, caused the green lightning and the rain that your Tribe saw that day. And…that should just about do it, I think._

I sat there with Iris and neither of us spoke for a while after I was done flickering my explanation. I glanced at 4 and 9 again but both of them were still fast asleep.

"That must've been what the drawing of your 5 being held by a machine was about," Iris said finally. "It was meant to be of him getting his soul taken out. That's…That's actually about ten times worse than my story. No wonder it's such a sensitive subject back at the library. It's almost taboo and now, I understand why." I nodded.

_9 had a lot of nightmares about the beginning of his life in the first year or so after the Machine's defeat_, I told her. _He blamed himself for what happened and 5's death seemed to affect him more than any of the others. They were best friends, you see. And then, he started having nightmares because of how he was scared he'd lose us, too._

"So…I'm guessing he didn't really like to talk about it so he just tried to make himself feel better by drawing the nightmares out on paper?" Iris asked.

_Yeah_, I replied. _And 7 tried to support him through it all to the best of her ability. They got married a year ago. _I chuckled silently. _What's ironic is that…I was hoping we'd find some more of our kind 'cause I think 4 had a crush on 6 once and I thought it might be nice if she could fall in love for real. And then, in the early hours of the morning after I thought about that, you arrived at the library._

"Ah, the power of wishful thinking," Iris mused. We both laughed quietly, still trying to keep the noise down so the others could sleep.

Suddenly, Iris stood up and crossed over to the pack full of emergency medical supplies that 9 had brought.

"Ah!" she said triumphantly, pulling out a small blade and small tube of wood sealant. "Say, 3, do you know how humans had this practice of cutting each others' hands and then shaking them as a sign of either loyalty, friendship or a promise? And how this was meant to be the process of becoming 'blood brothers'?"

I nodded and she brought the two objects over to the stone she'd been sitting on. She placed the objects on its top surface and knelt on one side of it before gesturing for me to do the same. Then, she picked up the blade, made a tiny vertical nick in the centre of her left palm and immediately filled it in with the sealant.

"Your turn," she said once she'd done all this. "Give me your hand. I want to make you a promise." I shook my head and leaned forward, making sure my arms were well out of her reach.

_Iris, don't_, I pleaded. But she still held out her arm expectantly and the look on her face made it almost impossible not to cave in. So finally, I consented and let her repeat the process on my right palm. Then, we clasped our newly-scarred hands together.

"I promise I will do whatever it takes to guide and defend this clan in the days to come," Iris said solemnly. "And no matter what the personal cost may be, I promise that I _will_ save your mother and I _will _reunite this family."

We let go of each other's hands and I stared at her.

_OK. But why did you have to go through all that? _I asked. _Why not just tell me that without putting nicks in our hands? _Iris replaced the objects in 9's emergency pack before answering.

"This is one promise I don't intend to break." I gave her a crooked smile and cocked my head to the side slightly.

_You're crazy_, I flickered when she walked back over to me. Iris smiled and let out a sigh.

"Well, I suppose I'd better wake up 9 so he can take the next watch," she said. "Think you could get to sleep _now_?" I nodded and headed back over to my blanket while she picked up her tuning fork and started shaking 9.

And this time, I was asleep five seconds after I wrapped the blanket round me and lay down.


	16. Chapter 16

…Let's see…how should I put this now? Hmm…well, how about this; since I'm going to do a remake of "Soulbound" at some point, I've decided to do a remake of "Prey" to go with it.

I mean, let's face it; they both need improvements made to 'em and a remake of "Soulbound" wouldn't really fit with the events of the original "Prey", in the first place.

**Anyway, 7's POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!**

Chapter 16

**7's POV**

Gertrude was asleep when I woke up. The old woman was lying with a blanket pulled over her on her own bed and she had her back to me. I felt a little bad about leaving her like this but it looked like it might be my only chance to make my escape without relying on someone else's help.

The rope around my wrists was tied too tight to even _think _about wriggling my hands out of it and I didn't want to waste time trying to cut it on Gertrude's spear (I was still sure that that was what the staff was). If I wanted to get out of here quickly, I'd just have to forget about my hands for now.

"Mornin', 7," a male voice said as soon as I stepped outside. I looked up, impressed at how Corin had had the foresight to wait right next to the door for me.

"Here to do what Hamlet says and follow me around everywhere?" I asked. Corin nodded but then, he looked over my shoulder and gasped quietly.

I followed his gaze and spotted Portia standing in front of the entrance to Hamlet's throne room. Her head wire was in her right hand and she was shaking her head from side to side, causing her hair to fly out in all directions.

Finally, she stopped and pulled the wire down over the top of her head. That was when she looked to her right and noticed Corin watching her from behind me. She gave him a small smile that I guess was meant to be self-conscious and disappeared inside the throne room.

When I turned back to Corin, he was grinning from ear to ear. I smiled slyly at him and leaned against the wall of Gertrude's hut.

"You like her, don't you?" I said. To my great amazement, Corin seemed legitimately confused by my question.

"You mean, like her as a friend?" he asked.

"No. I mean, 'like her' like her."

"What? No. No, no. I-I don't."

"That may be so, but you weren't exactly looking away when she was whipping her hair about, either."

"Hey!" he said suddenly. "How's about I give you the grand tour of the camp? Seeing how you're gonna be here a while and everything?" I could tell he was just trying to change the subject but I didn't argue.

It wasn't exactly a "grand" tour, if you know what I mean. Corin basically just pulled me towards the fire pit and pointed to each of the huts and told me who they belonged to.

Gertrude's hut was sandwiched between Hamlet's throne room and the two huts at the foot of the wall that had once belonged to Viola and Antonio (who were ex-members of the Tribe like Iris, apparently). Directly opposite the hut that had been Antonio's was the one Juliet shared with her twin. Next to that, a hut Portia had lived in before she'd married Hamlet and the one Corin currently occupied.

The last hut, which was the closest to the break in the rubble circle, was the one Iris had lived in. And as soon Corin had told me this, he quickly made sure nobody was looking and pulled me right inside it.

"Look, 7," he started, "I'm gonna be straight with you, OK? Gertrude and I have been making plans with the girls to try and get you home. But when the time comes for us to get that plan going, chances are we're gonna have to fight our way out of this place."

"Well, then," I replied. "If you're asking for my help with said fighting, you came to the right person. Only problem is I don't have a weapon."

"That's one of the reasons why I wanted to talk to you about this. I'm gonna make you a weapon. In case of emergency and whatnot, you know? Anyway, I just need to know what kind you're most familiar with and I can get the parts together."

"I'm glad you asked. Not only am I most familiar with spears, but I'm pretty damn good with 'em, too." I paused for a second and then, hastily added, "Not to toot my own horn or anything."

Corin chuckled and said, "A spear, then? OK. No problem." He led me outside again and we immediately spotted Juliet swinging her sword around next to the fire pit. Near her was a small wooden mannequin tethered to a nail that had been driven into the ground. She smiled when she saw us.

"Just getting a few practice swings in to warm up before I get on to the mannequin," she explained. "I _do _need to see if your lessons are paying off or not, after all, Corin."

"Well, good luck finding a new sensei if they're not, my young pupil," he replied jokingly. Juliet's grin widened and she charged at the mannequin and took a swing at it with her sword.

The blade sliced through the rope like it wasn't there and the mannequin flopped forward a little more. But when Juliet pushed it back up against the nail to inspect it, she sighed in disappointment. It was clear she'd only managed to cut the rope, not the wood.

I could remember 4 being like that at one time or another. Always smiling confidently and trying to make the best of whatever living conditions we had. Kicking herself mentally whenever one of her schemes to cheer us all up went wrong. Juliet was beginning to seem more and more like that kind of girl.

"I wonder if Gertrude's up yet," I said to Corin before he walked away and left me standing at the door of her hut. I pushed the curtain door aside and almost gasped when I saw Portia sitting on Corin's stool.

"Sit down," she said quietly, pointing at my usual spot on the bed. I walked round to the side that wasn't touching the wall and did as she'd said. Then, Portia leaned forward.

"I need to ask you something, 7," she told me. "It-It's more of a request to make a deal with me than a question, actually."

"What is it?" I asked. She sighed in hesitation and then, held up a hand so that her scarred palm was on display.

"7, I promise that no further harm will come to you on my watch. But I must ask that in return, you help us to liberate our Tribe from Hamlet's control."

"Liberate your Tribe?" I repeated. "Does that mean dethrone Hamlet or…" I couldn't bring myself to say what the only alternative meaning was. I shot a glance at Gertrude; still sleeping.

"It's hard to say," Portia sighed. "Despite everything he's done, I'm hoping that it'll just mean dethroning him when it comes to it." I thought for a moment and sighed, too.

"Well, as long as I'm not the one who has to kill him in end if it turns out that that's the only option, I'm in." I held out my bound hands and she stood up. "You have my word, Portia." She nodded with a small smile, took hold of my wrists and carefully pumped them up and down.

"Good," she said. She started to head for the door but she stopped just before the curtain and chuckled quietly to herself.

"What?" I asked. Portia looked at me with a wide smile.

"7, I swear; your soul container…must be made of titanium."


	17. Chapter 17

*evil chuckle* Guys, you are in for a treat. And for once, I'm not gonna spoil anything in this chapter. So, you just sit back and enjoy it.

Oh! And by the way, I'm off school for Easter until April 8th. So, you can expect the next few updates soon.

Iris' POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!

_Chapter 17_

Iris' POV

"Are you sure this is the right way to the camp, Iris?" 9 asked for the third time that day. He was starting to irritate me a little bit now.

"I don't know, OK?" I suddenly snapped. "After I stopped to pick up a new tuning fork, I was just running scared for most of the journey and I didn't pay much attention to my surroundings. Plus, it was nighttime and I hadn't been outside the camp boundaries for about twelve years." That shut him up.

It was the late afternoon and most likely getting close to when we would settle down for the night. We were walking across five old, wooden planks (the centre one, to be exact) that had been nailed over the top of a hole.

I wasn't sure how deep it was but since all I could see through a hole in one of the planks was darkness, I knew none of us wanted to end up down there.

It had taken me a good five minutes to convince the others to cross the planks with me. The hole was surrounded on its left and right sides by large piles of loose rubble, so trying to climb over _that _slowly and carefully would just waste time. Besides, we were tiny compared to a human and didn't weigh a lot, so the planks weren't likely to break under us.

But when we got to a spot in the middle of the centre plank where the wood looked very rotten, even I was starting to think twice. Carefully, we started to half-hop around the spot-

_Ker-ker-ker-aaaack!_

I looked over my shoulder at the sound. 4-who had been the most hesitant and slow in her crossing from the start-was lying on her front and just starting to push herself up with her hands. Her left foot was caught in a small hole between the centre and inner-left planks and from the looks of it, she had tripped after her foot had got caught.

Cracks continued to spread out from where she had fallen; right onto the left side of the rotten spot. She raised her head weakly and looked at us with a terrified expression.

The wood opened under 4 and she fell.

"No!" 9 yelled. We raced to the edge of the break in the wood, got onto our hands and knees and peered down into the abyss. The female twin was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly hyperventilating, I stood up and walked round to the other side of the break.

"Wait, wait, wait," 9 said as he looked up. "What are you doing?" I ignored him, spreading my arms wide and taking a deep breath. On the boys' side of the break, 3 was frantically waving his hands to try and stop me.

"No! Wait!" 9 yelled. I released the breath and jumped through the hole. "IRIS, NO!"

The petals of my skirt opened out and my fall slowed until it almost felt like I wasn't moving at all. I took another deep breath, steeling my nerves as the light from above began to fade. I knew that I had to be close to the bottom already.

Less than a minute after my jump, my feet touched the ground again and my skirt drifted back into place. I shot a quick glance up at the two silhouettes above me and began to walk around with my arms extended in front of me.

"4!" I called out. "4, are you OK? If you can hear me, turn your lights on!" Immediately, a pair of bright yellow beams shone in my face and I had to shield my eyes for a moment or two.

Then, the lights moved downward a little and I blinked, stumbling towards their source.

"4!" I cried as soon as I could make out the shape of her. I ran over and bent down. "Are you all right?"

_I'm not sure_, she flickered. _I don't think there's any serious damage, but I think my ankle's broken._ I nodded and slid my arm around her shoulders, pulling her to her feet. Then, I helped her to hobble back into the microscopic circle of light in the middle of the pit.

Dangling in the centre of the light was the end of a rope. I carefully let 4 slide down onto her knees and peered upwards.

"Iris, grab hold!" 9 called down to me. "We'll pull you up!" 4 carefully shifted towards me on her knees and I wrapped one arm around her skinny waist, clutching the end of the rope in my free hand.

"I'm sorry, 4," I said to her. "Let's get you out of here." I tugged on the rope twice and we were lifted off the ground. We screwed up our eyes as we got closer to the light and 9 and 3 started to help us back up onto the planks.

As soon as 4 and I were out of the pit, we all scurried away from the hole and hopped off the planks and back onto the dirt. My eyes were finally used to the light again and I looked at 4's left ankle.

The bone was, indeed, broken and the foot was twisted at a grotesque angle. The part of the bone that fed into the ankle from the leg had pierced the fabric and it flashed silver in the sunlight. I knelt down beside the female twin.

"I'm sorry, 4," I repeated. "It's my fault. I made us walk across there." She shook her head furiously.

_No. You were right_, she flickered. _That rubble _was _too loose. And if it collapsed onto the planks while we were trying to climb over it, one of us probably would've fallen in, anyway._

_Besides, it's partly my fault the fracture got this bad. I think my ankle was just sprained when I first fell in and I made it worse by trying to walk around on it._

"Hello?" a male voice suddenly called out from somewhere nearby. "Hello? Somebody? Anybody? Iris?" 9 stood up and stared at the bend in the road just ahead of us. The voice seemed to be coming from round said corner.

"Iris," he said, "would that be your Corin?" I shook my head.

"No. No, it's someone else," I replied. "But I don't know who. It's like…I'm meant to know who it is but I can't remember who it is because it's been a very long time since I last heard this voice."

"Well, if you don't remember who it is, then it can't be Hamlet or Corin. You wouldn't forget either of _them _in a week."

"Yeah, I know." I picked up my tuning fork, got to my feet and started to head towards the corner. "You guys wait here. I'll see who it is." Before 9 could start up another round of protests, I raced over to the alcove preceding the curve of the bend and crouched behind it, listening.

Whoever the voice belonged to sensed the movement and slowed down his breathing rate. I heard the sound of some kind of makeshift firearm being loaded and cocked. I slowed down my own breathing rate and raised my tuning fork, grasping one of its prongs in my right hand.

Whoever this guy was, he knew my name. I'd already ruled out every possibility of it being Corin so I had to be sure I was ready. Just in case it _was _Hamlet and he was trying to disguise his own voice to trick me.

I looked back down towards 9 and the twins and gave them a quick thumbs up. Then, I glanced at the tiny scar on my left hand from the promise I'd made to 3 last night.

Even if walking across the planks was a pretty boneheaded move and put a bit of a dent in that plan, I was still going to fulfil it. From now on, I would protect the others until it got to a point where they could go home in peace. Even if it meant I would die now.

Swinging my tuning fork, I leapt round the corner. The owner of the voice gasped and dropped his crossbow when he saw me. I gasped, too and lowered my tuning fork until the tip of one of the prongs was touching the ground.

The man before me had faded black skin and a line of vertical black stitches identical to Gertrude's ran down his front. The seams that connected his arms to his body did so with red stitches and warm black pupils peered out from behind copper eyeglass casings.

"Ant?" I breathed. Then, the tuning fork slipped out of my hand altogether and I rushed towards him. "Antonio!" I slammed into him and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck as we fell to the ground.

"Iris?" Despite the fact that he'd just been calling my name, Antonio seemed surprised to see me as he pushed me off and sat up. "Would you mind explaining to me why the hell you're out here?"

"Same as you; I ran away," I replied. "But I have to go back to the camp. The other clan really _does _exist but Rosaline came after me and took a woman called 7. We're going to rescue her."

"I thought you might've run away. The missus started getting worked up a few days back and told me that we were likely to see you again very soon."

"The missus?" I gasped. "Do you mean Viola? She's married you?"

"Yes, strange as it may seem," said Antonio as we stood up, grabbed our weapons and started heading back round the corner. "And speaking of Viola, I bet you're wondering why we left together.

"Well, you know I've always hated Hamlet and the way he ran things back at the camp, right? I was already making plans to leave when Viola took your punishment plus her own. And when I saw what that monster did to her eye, I knew I couldn't leave her behind. So, I asked her to join me, we got some help from Portia and we left as soon as we were both one hundred percent ready."

"Iris, who is that?" 9 asked as we approached the spot where he and the twins were standing.

"9, 3, 4, this is Antonio," I said, gesturing to him with both hands. "Ant, this is the leader of the other clan; 9. 7 is his wife and these twins are his adopted children; 3 and 4."

"Pleasure to meet you, sir," Antonio said, shaking 9's hand. He glanced down at the twins and spied 4's broken ankle. "I see you're in need of some assistance. Well, lemme tell ya; you're all welcome to stay with me and Vi. We're living in a tree house in the area."

"Tree house?" 9 repeated. "What do you mean?"

"I'll explain later. Let's just get going." He walked away from us a little and looked over his shoulder. "If you want to, that is." 9 bent down and scooped his adopted daughter up in his arms.

"All right, then, Antonio. Lead the way."


	18. Chapter 18

**If you're wondering why Viola calls Iris "sorellina", it's an Italian term that means "little sister". Viola's name means "Violet" in Italian and she's technically older than Iris, which is why she calls her by that nickname.**

**Iris' POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!**

Chapter 18Iris' POV

"That's it up there," Antonio said, pointing up into the branches of an oak tree. A small square shack was sitting amongst them at the top of the trunk. Wooden planks were nailed onto the front of the trunk, most likely used as footholds by the child who had once owned this tree house to climb up to it.

"We used some cardboard boxes to divide the place up into different 'rooms'," Antonio went on. "You guys can each pick out whichever one you want." He lead us towards the very bottom of the trunk where a small bucket elevator was waiting.

"So, how long have you and Viola been married?" I asked as he started turning the crank. I glanced at the bone poking out of 4's ankle, then at her surprisingly-calm face and shuddered. I don't know how she was able to ignore that kind of pain.

"About four months," Antonio said between revolutions. "She'll probably be up on the roof right about now. She goes up there to meditate." He finally jammed the crank in its current position and we stepped out onto a rope bridge leading to the entrance of the tree house.

9 set 4 down on a table and Antonio went to work on her ankle using both our supplies and his own. After examining the break for a few minutes, he concluded that it wasn't anything that a blob of strong glue couldn't fix.

As relieved as I was to hear that, I quickly lost interest in the operation after it and glanced up at a rope ladder hanging down from a hole in the ceiling. Through the hole, I could just make out what I took to be a large, faded yellow tarp.

"You can go up, if you want," Antonio said when he caught me staring at it. "And if you need me, just holler."

"I'll keep that in mind," I replied, heading towards the ladder and taking hold of one of the rungs. "Oh! And remember, boys; I'm wearing a skirt. So, no looking up." I started up the ladder and within seconds, I was on the roof.

The tarp was nailed down at the back of the roof and raised up on poles at the side above the entrance. A fire was burning in a pot of coals and for some reason, the flames smelled very strongly of herbs.

There were several broken bracelets lying around and most of their beads and charms were scattered all over the floor. A jewellery box sat next to an old notepad, an inkbottle and a tiny, homemade paintbrush.

Various herbs were piled up in one bowl and the heads of some flowers were hanging over the side of another with the tips of their stems resting in water in the bottom. Among the flowers were a couple of…(sigh) irises (which I gritted my "teeth" a little over).

In front of the coal pot was a small, burlap figure with a piece of white fabric wrapped around its head. I gulped and cautiously took a step closer, taking care not to stand on any beads as I did so.

"Viola?" I whispered, almost silently. The figure raised its head a little but didn't look round. Instead, I heard it take a breath.

"Sì," it whispered in reply. The figure rose to its feet and slowly turned towards me.

Viola gasped about as quietly as I'd spoken just now and moved sluggishly in my direction. Her mouth shrunk in size a little but didn't quite close. I stood with my arms raised in front of my chest, with no clue of how to react.

"Iris," she breathed. "Is it really you?" She stopped in front of me and reached out with her left arm. Her hand rested on my right cheek and she carefully stroked it with her fingertips.

I fell sobbing against her, my arms curling around her shoulders-and-neck area. She returned the gesture and we warmly embraced each other for a moment.

"Oh, Viola." My voice broke up. "I'm so sorry."

"Ssh, ssh. Do not weep for your past mistakes, sorellina," she crooned affectionately. "I have long since forgiven you for them, and the only thing I begrudge you for is your refusal to forgive yourself for something that was never your fault."

"He ripped your eye out." I couldn't bring myself to say Hamlet's name. "He cut your hair off. Because I-"

"Because you believed in my visions and were true to me," Viola chimed in. "Even with Hamlet's threats of punishment hanging over your head. Never repent of your own goodness, child. To stay true in the face of evil is a feat of strength."

We both pulled back from each other a little and once I thought I could trust my voice, I said, "But Corin…and Jules…and the rest. Are they all right?"

"Fear not, sorellina," Viola said with a smile. "Corin and our other friends are alive and well. And so is the one Rosaline took from the other clan." I breathed in and got a snootful of whatever was making the fire smell herbal.

"Is something burning in there?" I asked, pointing at the coal pot.

"Oh, yes. It's peppermint and cloves. I burn herbs whenever I meditate. Well, when I can find them. The smell of the flame helps me to concentrate more." There were footsteps behind me and I turned to see Ant helping 9 through the hole.

"Iris," 9 said. "Antonio's finished 4's ankle. She's going to have to stay off it for a while, though. So the glue can harden and the joint can get strong again."

"So, you're the leader of the clan from the library, then." Viola said this as she walked over and shook him warmly by the hand. "It's so nice to finally meet you. My name is Viola."

"So I've heard. Iris tells me you're a seer."

"Yes," she laughed. "I am, indee-"

"Miss?" 9 said as she trailed off. Antonio stood to the side and breathed out, covering his face with his right hand.

"Ai, ai, ai," he said slowly and quietly. "Not now." Viola turned away from the two men and I saw that her pupil had dilated until it almost filled her entire eye.

I cautiously began to creep closer. I had only got to see Viola as she actually had a vision that she didn't trigger herself once, maybe twice before. 9 mimicked my actions, staring at Viola's back in fascination.

Viola took a few, zombie-like steps towards me. Then, her pupil shrivelled to a pinprick, dilated again and finally shrank back to something resembling normality.

She immediately raced over to the notepad, flipped it open, dipped the paintbrush in the ink and began drawing out the vision she'd just had.

"I often see symbols when I have a vision," she said as she stood up, most talking likely to either 9 or me. She came over and held up the drawing for us to see, dripping ink onto the floor in the process.

"The first part of my vision showed me a circle." She pointed to the ring at the top of the page. "This represents unity. It means that we, along with our allies in the Tribe's camp, can make it out of this mess as long as we work together."

"And what's that at the bottom of the page?" 9 asked, pointing at the drawing there. Viola peeked at it as if to double-check what she'd seen in the vision and then, looked round us sadly. It seemed her suspicions (whatever they were) had been confirmed.

"That is a sword," she frowned. "It represents sacrifice. And if it appeared in the same vision as a circle, that means…"

"It's OK, honey," Antonio encouraged her softly. "Just tell us what it means. It's all right."

Viola wouldn't look at anyone as she spoke.

"It means that while we can get through this by working together, it will require a sacrifice of some kind. And knowing Hamlet, that almost certainly means that some of us will not survive."


	19. Chapter 19

Just one more little chapter of 3 and Iris filler and we'll be back onto the subject of the escape attempt next time.

And by the way, the way Iris sings "Danny Boy" in this chapter is based on the way Barney sings it in one episode of "The Simpsons".

3's POV in this chapter. Enjoy!

**P.S. How come Freida's the only one who reviews my updates these days?**

Chapter 19

**3's POV**

Antonio showed us a little "crow's nest" he'd built on either side of the front window. There was a little balcony with a telescope on a pole on the outside of it. And on the inside, there was a platform with a rope ladder hanging down from it and you could use both things to climb up and out onto the balcony.

Once he'd taken us through that, Antonio suggested that some of us should take turns to keep watch. Just in case that Rosaline girl got sent out to look for Iris again or something like that. Like she had yesterday, Iris immediately volunteered to take the first watch.

It was dark outside now as I headed up onto the roof. I had heard there were some flowers up there and I also wanted to thank Iris for getting my sister out of that hole.

Viola was in front of her coal pot, staring intently at the drawing she'd done this afternoon.

I don't know if she heard me coming up or not, but she seemed to know what I was there for because she pointed at the bowl of flowers and said, "Take any that you like."

I tiptoed round the beads on the floor and crossed over to the bowl, starting to inspect some of the flowers in there. Almost immediately, I spotted a flower with three yellow petals that hung down around the top of its stem; the same flower shared Iris' name.

"That's a nice one. I think she'll like it. She just might," Viola said slowly, coming over as I picked it up. "After all, it _is _a gift from you." I turned and looked at her, a little confused.

"Mia sorellina will benefit greatly from her friendship with you. I can tell." She laughed a little to herself and turned away again. "Your clan is a strange group of people, indeed, young one. My visions of the future when they involve your lot…they never cease to amaze me."

I nodded at her back as she returned to her spot by the fire and headed back down inside the tree house. 9 and Antonio were waiting at the bottom of the ladder.

"Hi, 3," said 9. "We were just heading up to the roof, ourselves. Antonio says he'd like to help with looking for 7 and we're going to talk with Viola about it."

_What about me and 4?_ I asked. _And Iris?_

"Well, obviously 4 can't go anywhere on that ankle for a few days," 9 replied. "Not anywhere very far, at least. But as for you and Iris, we haven't really decided anything yet." He paused. "Does anyone else hear singing?"

He was not wrong; a female voice was faintly carrying through the window as I made a beeline for the ladder hanging from the platform under it. I carefully held the yellow iris by its stem in my mouth and climbed up.

Iris was leaning on the rail of the balcony, next to the telescope pole. I stopped and listened as she carried on with her song;

"_Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling_

_From glen to glen, and down the mountain side,_

_The summer's gone, and all the roses falling_

'_Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide_."

I pulled the flower out of my mouth and stepped forward. Iris whipped round in surprise.

"Oh," she said. "I didn't know I had an audience." I shrugged and slowly held out the flower. She took it and carefully stroked one of its petals.

"Oh! I get it." She laughed a little. "A flower for a flower, right? That's sweet. Thank you." I sighed internally with relief. I'd half-expected her to be mad since it was an iris.

_It's-It's a present. For you_, I flickered. _I just wanted to give you a little something since you saved my sister. _Iris smiled and leaned forward before pulling my hood down and planting a tiny kiss on my left cheek.

"Thanks, 3," she said. "You really didn't have to do anything like this, but I appreciate it. And saving 4…it was nothing. It was the least I could do since you've been so kind to me, even after all the trouble I've caused."

_Speaking of which, what was up with your skirt when you jumped into that hole? _I asked. Iris smiled in embarrassment and I could easily imagine how much she would've been blushing if she could.

"Gertrude made this skirt for me. It's actually pretty useful for jumping down from high-up places without killing myself, if you know what I mean. And it's pretty much the only thing that makes me feel as flowery as my name."

Then, I remembered how she'd been singing just a few minutes ago and asked if she liked music. I can't tell you how surprised I was when she replied by saying it was her favourite thing in the whole world.

"Yeah, yeah. I know what you're thinking," she said when she saw my face. "I complain about how I'm named after something that's virtually useless. And yet, I say my favourite thing is music; something that's as equally useless as flowers in a world like this."

I didn't reply, so she just carried on.

"But here's the thing; flowers may wither over time, but they usually come back at the same time the following year. With music, it may or may not be like that. I mean, once you hear a piece for the first time, you may never hear it again.

"That's one of the reasons why I wear a bell around my neck and use a tuning fork as a weapon. Because the sounds both of those things make are almost always the same. So, I can hear the same music from both of them whenever I want."

I was actually surprised to hear something that deep from her. And I actually cursed myself when I couldn't think of anything to say other than; _I bumped into 9 before I came out here. He says he doesn't know what you and I are going to do the next time he goes to look for 7. Not just yet._

"Hmm," said Iris. She glanced at the scar on the palm of her hand and went to stand on the platform on the inside of the window. "3, I'm gonna go see if I can get some water and a vase for your flower. You should probably get to bed soon; it's late."

She stroked the flower's petals again with a small smile and I pulled my hood up.

Then, she started down the ladder in the same way I'd climbed up and left me staring at my own scar.


	20. Chapter 20

**We get to see a very small glimpse of a softer side of Hamlet in this chapter. But unfortunately, this story isn't going to have a sequel or any spin-off short stories (mainly because it's set in one of those universes where female stitchpunks can't get pregnant and the stitchpunk equivalent of sex is almost non-existent).**

**This means that the reason why Hamlet is the way he is for you to decide.**

**Anyway, Corin's POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!**

Chapter 20Corin's POV

"You're beginning to test my patience," Hamlet began. "When that insolent little creature first arrived here, we agreed that one or both of you would relay any information about her clan to me from time to time. And yet, I find I'm still waiting for the first batch of information on her third day with us."

Gertrude and I had been called into the throne room first thing this morning. Portia and even Rosaline had been ordered out of it while Hamlet was talking with us and Jules had been left to keep an eye on 7.

"My apologies, sir," I said, almost choking on the words (I still couldn't stand it when I had to force myself to be polite to him). "But you see…the thing is…the thing is with 7…she's not the talkative type."

I was lying through my teeth, of course; last night, 7 had finally confessed about why her clan's numbers had been so diminished. But said confession was sort of coming back to bite us in the butt right about now since Gertrude and I were the only ones who had heard it from her.

But Hamlet just smiled and nodded stiffly. I wasn't sure how to react to that; Portia had once said that he could tell when he was being lied to but smiled and nodded anyway to try and catch you off guard. But so far, I'd never been able to tell if this was true or not.

"And another thing," Gertrude added. "When 7 first arrived here, Corin and I told her we wouldn't report anything she didn't want you to know. To gain her trust." Her face was expressionless but her tone was clearly defiant.

Alarm bells started ringing in my head and I shot her a frightened glance. She was starting to go from hanging from a worn, breaking rope over a snake pit to sawing through that rope with a knife.

"Is that so?" Hamlet said, folding his arms with an unreadable expression. Gertrude nodded.

"Why do you want to know about the other clan so badly all of a sudden, anyway? You yourself said it was a load of nonsense back when Viola stirred up a racket about it. And yet now, with 7's arrival, you're suddenly as interested in it as Iris was."

Hamlet laughed and said, "Why, Gertrude! I thought you were smart enough to know!" He turned to me with a sadistic grin. "There are many tales about kings in ancient times who conquered other lands, other peoples and expanded their territory, their own land's population and their power as they did so."

"Oh, God!" I gasped. "You're planning to bring 7's clan under your control as well, aren't you?" The revelation made me have to pause and catch my breath. "And knowing you, Hamlet, they'll be little more than slaves."

"There's no need for blasphemy, Corin," he replied. "But, indeed, you are correct. And please, riddle me this; why shouldn't they be little more than slaves? We already know that 7 can barely contain her own rage, so the rest of them can't be much better."

"Hamlet…" Gertrude whispered sadly, bowing her head.

"She's not an animal!" I exploded. "She's just doing what most of us have been too scared to do for years; she's fighting!" I scoffed. "King? You're no king; you're just a coward and a tyrant! You can't even do anything to control us without having to hide behind Rosaline while she does all the dirty work for you!"

As I'd been speaking, Hamlet's smile had disappeared and a cold grimace had come up to replace it. He was glaring as he started towards me.

Suddenly, Gertrude leapt between us with her arms stretched out towards the side walls of the throne room.

"Hamlet, stop this!" she pleaded.

"Get out of my way!" He raised his right arm and backhanded her. Gertrude fell onto the floor and rolled for a few seconds, losing her grip on her staff in the process.

I gasped. Hamlet stopped in his tracks and stared at the palm of his right hand. Gertrude pushed herself to her feet, picked up her staff and stormed up to Hamlet. She leaned forward into his face until their eyeglass casings were almost touching.

"You know, Hamlet," she said. "Those machines didn't just steal the souls of 7's clan; they stole you, too. They took my son away from me."

Surprisingly, a sad kind of look came onto Hamlet's face and he hung his head. And I knew she had hurt him.

Gertrude stormed outside and left us alone in the throne room. I looked at Hamlet, remembering how we'd found him and Gertrude travelling together during the War. And for the very first time in my life, I felt sorry for him.

Then, the angry look returned to his face and any and all sympathy I had for him vanished in the same second.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" he snapped. "Get out, you idiot!"

"Yes, sir," I spat. I turned on my heel and stomped out of the throne room, almost pulling the curtain door out from under the pins that held it up as I went.

Gertrude was sitting next to the fire pit with her staff at her feet. Her head was bowed and she'd covered her face with her hands.

"I'm all right," she said when she heard me coming over. She took her hands away from her face and looked up. "I suppose I always knew he was long gone since he first became leader. But…but I just didn't want to admit it to myself. I kept trying to convince myself that maybe, just maybe he'd go back to being the way he was when I met him eventually but I was wrong."

She stood up and pulled the rubber bands and the yellow fabric off the top of her staff, revealing a small-but-lethal-looking blade underneath.

"When do we leave?" she asked.

"I started putting together that weapon I was making for 7 last night. And now, I just need to finish it off. At the very earliest, we should be able to move tonight."

"Good," Gertrude replied. "I'll be telling that to 7 and Juliet, then."

**~The Tribe~**

I was done with putting the finishing touches on 7's spear in just a few minutes. I'd managed to make it foldable for easy storage and even the blade could be folded into a little notch I'd cut in the side of the pole. And I'd made it so that giving it a good toss into the air would make it unfold by the time it fell and you caught it.

"Corin?" a female voice apologised from the doorway. I turned and found Portia standing there. I set the spear down on the floor and took a few steps towards her.

"What is it?" I asked. Portia leaned against the wall behind her and folded her arms, suddenly looking a little cross.

"When exactly were you planning on telling me you were leaving tonight?" Then, she noticed the look on my face and explained the question. "I overheard Gertrude talking to Jules and 7 about it. So, why not me? Why didn't she bring me into her hut, too?"

"Er…" I said. That was clearly the wrong way to go.

"Oh, I see! It's because you wanted to be sure you had the element of surprise on your side, right? And to be sure Hamlet and Rosaline wouldn't find out about your plan, Gertrude didn't tell anyone who wouldn't be going with you."

"That's not true!" I interjected, suddenly getting cross myself. "You can't fight. So if things end up getting ugly when we try to leave, I don't want you getting hurt."

"Getting hurt how?" Portia snapped. "I'm married to Hamlet, for Christ's sake! My life's pretty much a living hell already!" I sighed and my anger dissolved as quickly as it had come.

"You're right; it _is _a living hell. And you might as well blame me for that. I mean, I _wanted _to do something to stop you from having to marry him. Believe me, I did. I could've stood up to him and protected you but I didn't. I just stood by and said and did nothing to stop it."

Portia tried to say something but I put up a hand to stop her. Then, I took hold of her wrist and carefully turned her hand over so the scars on her palms were facing upwards.

"It's a bit of a joke, really," I said, shaking my head. "I love you and yet, I let him do stuff like this to you."

"What?" I froze and my arm fell back down to my side. What I'd just said was quite possibly the most boneheaded move I'd ever made in my life. How could I have been such an idiot?

"What did you say?" Portia asked again. I took a step back and raised my head.

"I love you," I said quietly. Instead of looking shocked, she just dropped her head and I took another step back.

_Congratulations, man_, I thought. _Now, you've creeped her out and got yourself stuck in a whole heap of awkwardness. Way to go, Corin, old boy._

"Portia?" I started to walk towards her.

_No! You idiot! You absolute MORON! _my head screamed at me. _Don't do it! You'll just make everything worse!_

"Portia?" I asked again. She didn't respond, so I tried taking a hand and squeezing it. She didn't return the gesture and her hand felt stiff in my grasp. I let out a sigh and started to turn away.

"Wait," she said. Her fingers curled around my hand and made me turn back towards her. She slipped her free hand round the back of my head and let it rest on the top of my spine between my shoulders. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

Then, she tilted her head upwards and two seconds later, we were kissing. I released her hand and rested both of mine on her hair. I wouldn't have minded if it had all gone on forever but I think we both knew how much trouble we'd be in if anyone found us here.

Finally, our lips parted and I sighed again but both of us were smiling now.

"Well," I said, "I suppose I better take that spear and show it to 7."

"Mmm-hmm," Portia replied, nodding. She leaned against the wall again and held her left hand in her right as I bent down and picked up the spear.

I approached the curtain door, pulled it back and came face-to-face with Rosaline.


	21. Chapter 21

Well, here you go; the escape from the camp, a few catfights, crying boys…

**Oh! And remember how I asked you to keep 7's dialogue from Chapter 4 in mind? Well, this is the point where the bombshell is dropped and we get a revelation of who that person 1 met during the War was.**

**Anyway, 7's POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!**

Chapter 21

**7's POV**

"So, that's the plan?" I asked. "For definite?" Gertrude moved away from the door as Juliet left and nodded.

"According to Corin, yes," she said. She came over and started carefully cutting off the handcuffs with her spear. "Wait a minute! Didn't you say that one of the men who died…his name was 1?"

"Yeah." The rope fell onto the floor and I immediately started rubbing my numb wrists. Gertrude moaned in frustration and face-palmed herself.

"I can't believe I didn't tell Iris before she left," she muttered. "Oh! My memory just isn't what it used to be."

"Tell Iris what?" I asked. "What is it?" Gertrude looked at me long and hard.

"Not long after I was created, I quite literally bumped into another one of our kind. He was a bit like me appearance-wise; old, crudely-designed…you get the picture.

"Anyway, a machine started firing at us almost immediately after we both sat up and the man ran off somewhere. But I did manage to catch sight of something on his back; it looked like a number…"

"1…" I whispered, almost inaudibly. Gertrude nodded and as she did so, the curtain fluttered and a cool breeze wafted into the room.

It was almost as if, like me, he finally knew the name of the old woman he'd met all those years ago.

The curtain settled back into place. Half a second later, Portia screamed and Gertrude and I made a dash for the outside world.

Portia stood at the door of Corin's hut while he held Rosaline a few millimetres off the ground at arm's length, his hands under her pits. Unfazed by this, she reached out with both her arms and tried to scratch his cheeks.

Then, Corin threw her aside, picked up something from the ground and tossed it in my direction. As it flew through the air, it suddenly unfolded into a spear and I instinctively rushed forward and caught it.

"Change of plans, girls!" Corin yelled as Juliet rushed outside, sword in hand. "We move now!" He charged towards the throne room as Rosaline got to her feet and raised her bow.

In the same instant, Gertrude launched her spear at the redhead. I ducked my head down as the arrow embedded itself in the wall of Gertrude's hut and Rosaline cried out as Gertrude's spear opened a wound on her leg.

A black shape tackled the old woman to the ground and she cried out shrilly in surprise. I didn't hesitate; I stabbed the blade of my spear into the back of Hamlet's left shoulder and delivered a hard uppercut to his chin when he turned his head.

Juliet came running over as Gertrude shoved Hamlet to one side and the little girl slashed him diagonally across the stomach in the same way that she'd "attacked" that mannequin. And it seemed my anger at the cape-wearing sadist was infectious.

"You don't know how long I've been wanting to do that, you bastard!" Juliet yelled at Hamlet. My mouth fell open a little in shock; I'd never heard her swear before (nor had I ever expected to).

Gertrude got up and made a beeline for her spear. Corin came out of the throne room carrying a knife and looked Hamlet right in the eye.

"And seeing how this was mine to begin with, I'll just be taking it back now," he shouted. "If you don't mind." Before Hamlet could properly get to his feet, Gertrude came running back over and had him in a headlock in seconds.

Juliet dashed towards her sister, keeping her sword raised as she went. Portia had wrestled Rosaline to the ground and was currently scratching the hell out of the psychotic redhead.

"Run for it!" Gertrude barked at us. "Get out of here! Go!"

"But what about you guys?" Corin asked.

"Yeah! We can't just leave you here with _them_!" I added.

"Don't worry about us! Just go!" Portia fired back. "We'll hold them off as long as we can!"

Corin and I hesitated a second longer and then finally, turned and bolted for our lives.

**~The Tribe~**

After running for what seemed like forever, we ducked into a small alcove and practically _fell _back onto our behinds, puffing and panting like mad.

Suddenly, Corin's breaths became sobs and he turned his face away from me. I placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder with a frown, wishing I could do more. Nothing ever makes you feel so useless as another person's grief.

"You were right," he said between sobs. "I _do _love Portia. I told her that…and then, I kissed her and Rosaline showed up right after that. And…Jules and Gertrude…they were half my family."

I thought of the promise I made to Portia, Juliet's comical training session with the mannequin, Gertrude's kindness to me when I was being whipped. Those memories combined with the tension of our situation made me feel sick and almost weepy.

"We shouldn't have left them back there," I said with a small, anguished moan. "We could've thought of something to get us all out of there." I withdrew my hand and Corin whipped round at the movement. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" he asked, almost scoffing. "Being kidnapped?" He sighed. "No. I'm the one who should be sorry. I don't know if Rosaline heard what Portia and I were saying or not. But…maybe…maybe Hamlet told her to wait outside my door and ambush me when I stepped outside. And if she _did _hear what I was saying, chances are it just added more fuel to the fire."

We crouched in the hole in silence for a moment or two. Then, we heard a crunching noise on the dirt outside.

"Who was that?" Corin whispered. I crept towards the mouth of the hole and held out a hand behind me.

"I'll go out and check," I told him. "Give me your knife, just in case." He handed me the weapon and I jumped out into the open. I took a few steps in the direction opposite the one we'd come and then, a burlap shape ran round the corner and stopped a little way in front of me.

The girl had a single eye framed with silver and a brown patch covered the spot where her right eye was supposed to be. A trio of orange buttons fastened her skin and a white scarf was wrapped around her head and knotted in place at the back.

My mouth formed the shape of a small "O" and the knife in my hand dropped to the ground. She looked so much like 5 that, in spite of everything that had just happened, I decided right away that I could trust her.

"7?" the girl asked in a half-whisper. I stumbled backwards a little in surprise but she just took a step forward. "You are 7…are you not?"

"Well, aren't _you _noble?" I whipped round to see Corin standing at the mouth of the hole with his arms folded, glaring at the girl.

He took an angry step towards her and said, "You've got some nerve showing your face to _me _after all the trouble you've caused. Jules, Gertrude and Portia are probably gonna get killed and it's all your fault!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked. Corin jabbed a finger in my direction.

"Can it, 7." He turned his attention back to the girl but she calmly waved a hand at him.

"Peace, brother," she said. "I did nothing wrong. All I did was what you've been wanting to do for years; fight against Hamlet." She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. "That _is _what you said, right?"

"You know what I said in the throne room this morning?" Corin asked sceptically.

"Of course; I'm a seer, remember?" the girl said with a smile before coming over to me. "My name is Viola. Your children and Iris are back at the tree house with my husband."

"They're what?" I gasped. "What about 9?"

"He's…around here somewhere. It was decided that he and I would continue the search for you." She widened her smile. "I'll gladly take you home to them."


	22. Chapter 22

VOICE ACTOR CHANGE! Instead of Patrick Dempsey, Antonio is now voiced by…wait for it…Jack McBrayer!

**5: Even in a fanfic where I'm dead, there's a reference to "Wreck-It Ralph". You guys are TRYING to piss me off, aren't you?**

**Yeah. Sorry, guys. But I'm not the biggest fan of Mr. Dempsey and I've never actually watched that many movies involving him. That's why I changed voices.**

**Anyway, Iris' POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!**

Chapter 22Iris' POV

I kept my eyes fixed on the area in front of the tree even when I wasn't looking through the telescope. But for just one moment, I allowed my gaze to wander.

Just down the street in the remains of another backyard was an outhouse that Antonio had said he and Viola had lived in for the first few days of their new life together.

Straight ahead in the distance was my creator's house. Far away to the left (slightly indistinct in the city's landscape) was a horizontal, greyish-white stripe with human-shaped silhouettes lined up in front of it; the library.

And to the right, even more indistinct than the library, was my wall. I'd climbed up there to wonder about this and that so many times I was able tell it apart from the rest of the city, even from this far away.

And, as I knew, right at the bottom of the wall was the camp. It seemed like it had been a long time since I'd left it. Almost like the past eight days had all been part of one big dream.

I turned my attention back to the area surrounding the base of the tree and immediately noticed movement somewhere down there. The left side of my face got up close to the spyglass and I focused it on the source.

There was Viola, of course, but I started gasping at the sight of 7 following along behind her. And when I spotted Corin a few paces behind the two of them, my gasps were in danger of becoming sobs.

I dashed inside and scrambled down the ladder, making a direct beeline for the door of Antonio and Viola's room. I hammered on the "wall" to the left of the curtain door and eventually, Ant came out with a magnet in his hand.

"Yep, I still use them," he said when he caught me staring at it. "Been trying to cut back recently, though. Now, what is it? What do you need?"

My explanation was stopped by the sound of the elevator jamming in place outside. We stood staring at the entrance to the tree house until Viola and her companions finally entered.

"Seventh of the library clan," she said, "meet the seventh of our clan; my husband, Antonio."

"Hi, honey," he said, going over to hug her before turning to the new guests. "Nice to meet you, ma'am. And Corin! Haven't seen _you_ in a while!"

I was suddenly a little nervous about seeing 7 again. After all, if I had never shown up, none of this would ever have happened to her. I considered bolting for my own room while she was distracted but…too late.

"Where are the kids?" she asked as she approached me. I smiled at her and headed towards the twins' shared bedroom. I drew back the curtain a little and popped my head in.

"3, 4, there's someone here who wants to see ya," I told them. I stood to the side and let 7 enter the room.

3's reaction was immediate; he got up from beside his sister and hugged his mother tightly as if he could never bear to let go of her again. 7 warmly hugged him back and allowed herself to be led over to 4's bedside.

I backed away from the door and let the curtain fall back into place. I knew this reunion was one I wasn't meant to be a part of. But it seemed that while I'd been distracted by it, Corin had gone.

"He's in there," Antonio said suddenly, pointing to the door of my own room. He still had his magnet in his other hand and in the corner, Viola was halfway up the ladder to the crow's nest. I simply nodded at Ant's direction and went inside.

Corin was standing by the vase I'd put 3's flower in, stroking one of its petals with his fingertip. I stood in the doorway until he looked up and his eyes widened in surprise. Then, he smiled and opened his arms wide, like he was expecting a hug.

I ran straight into his arms and buried my face in his chest. There was a muffled ripping sound, then another and another. I thought I might've torn his fabric by accident but I quickly realised that the sounds were, in fact, my own sobs.

"Iris, Iris, Iris," he crooned. Hearing his voice…it was like I'd never left.

"I thought I'd never see you again," I croaked. "I've missed you so much. You could've been killed because of me." My head filled with cursing; what a time for a sentence to come out in the wrong order.

"I'd be better off dead," he replied. "'Cause then I wouldn't have endangered Portia in the same way." He sighed. "I actually went and did it; I told her about…how I feel."

"And she and the others got in trouble while you two escaped?" Corin nodded.

"I know what Hamlet's planning, too. He wants to bring 7's clan under his control, as well. And when Rosaline took 7, she found out you were with her family. My guess is Hamlet wanted to keep 7 as bait because he knew you'd lead them right to the camp eventually."

"Well, he can't exactly go ahead with his plans now, can he?" I said. "I mean, 7's not there anymore and half the clan is gone, too." I laughed hollowly but the look on my brother's face quickly put a stop to it.

"Don't you know anything?" he snapped. "This is only the beginning!" He dropped me onto my knees and walked away. Then, he stopped at the door and scoffed. "You honestly think Hamlet's gonna put all his plans for us to a stop just 'cause 7 and I escaped?"

"Corin, stop," I whispered pleadingly. "Don't do this to me. Please. I just got you back."

"Oh, grow up, Iris. I'm not doing anything besides telling you the plain truth. And that's that this is just a minor setback as far as Hamlet's concerned. He'll get his plans in motion again. You'll see." I stared at him in horror.

"You're mad! MAD!" I screamed suddenly. Corin's expression changed as he realised what he'd just said and in what way.

"Iris…I'm sorry." He came back to me, knelt down and drew me close in another hug. My whole body went rigid, refusing to be moved by the gesture. Still, he continued to hold us both in that position.

As angry as I was, I couldn't deny that Corin was right. Hamlet _would _get his plans back in motion, one way or another. The question was; how?

Night fell and I found out.


	23. Chapter 23

**Yay! More cliff-hangers!**

…**Beyond that, I don't have much to say about this chapter. Except perhaps;**

**#Stabbed through the heart and Rose is to blame.**

**#This fanfic gives her a bad name.#**

**Iris' POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!**

Chapter 23Iris' POV

Everyone but the twins was gathered at the foot of the tree house that night. We knew the light from our fire would just make the tree house easier to spot but we didn't really care anymore.

Viola was just explaining to 7-who was refusing to leave 9's side at all-what the vision she'd had meant when a cloaked figure suddenly appeared at the very edge of the firelight.

The figure pulled down its hood to reveal Rosaline's head. Corin had told me Portia had been scratching her and it showed; there were black stitch-scars all over her body, including on her left cheek and under her right eye. And judging by how unprofessional they looked, Gertrude couldn't have done them.

"You!" Corin said once he saw her face. He got to his feet and she immediately slotted an arrow into her bow, aiming it directly at his heart. I sprang up as well and stood between him and the weapon.

"So, it's you again," she said to me. She smiled when she looked around and saw 7, Ant and Vi standing there, too. "And all the other little fugitives. Small world."

"Do you still think obeying Hamlet's every order is a good thing?" Viola asked her, stepping forward. She picked up the drawing of her vision and indicated the sword at the bottom of the page.

"You see this? It means that the price you pay for these actions may be heavy, indeed."

"Oh, shut up, Viola. Ya borin' little turd," Rosaline replied. "But, anyways, you lot should know that fighting isn't my first priority this time. Tonight, I'm just here to talk to you."

"Well, we're not interested in anything you have to say!" Antonio snapped. Rosaline went on as if he wasn't there.

"The good news is; Portia and Juliet are still alive. The bad news is; that won't be true for the former much longer. Tomorrow at dawn, my big sister will have the great honour of taking Portia's pretty little head away."

As she said the last six words, she drew her finger morbidly across the front of her neck. Immediately, Corin surged forward with a growl and 9 and I each grabbed hold of one of his arms. He struggled madly, his eyes locked firmly on Rosaline.

"That's right," she said, clearly finding Corin's anger amusing. "And Hamlet sent me here to cordially invite you to the execution. Though there _is _a way you can put a stop to all this fighting and bloodshed."

"What's that?" 9 asked. Rosaline's grin turned slightly more devious.

"You bring everyone in your clan and everyone who escaped from mine to the camp between now and the crack of dawn. Then, you all surrender and swear your eternal loyalty to Hamlet. You do that and Portia will be allowed to live and we can all live happily ever after in the camp together."

"What? No way!" 7 screeched.

"You're crazy if you think, after all this time, I'm gonna swear my loyalty to Hamlet!" Antonio barked. "I'd rather die!" Rosaline laughed.

"If that's what you want," she said. "Still plenty of time to change your minds, though. I'll be off, now." She tossed her bow and arrow back into her quiver and yanked the hood of her brown cloak over her head.

"Wait!" I said. "What about Gertrude? Is she gonna be executed, too?" Rosaline laughed again.

"There is no need," she replied. "Let's just say that almost immediately after 7 and Corin got away, _her _punishment was swift and severe." Viola gasped loudly and covered her mouth with both hands. 7 and 9 exchanged a wide-eyed glance. Corin stopped struggling.

"You're a liar," he said slowly. "She's not dead. I don't believe you."

"Believe it," hissed Rosaline coldly.

A second growl trembled in Corin's throat and he tore his arms out of our grasp, charging straight at the redhead. She whipped out her bow again and sent an arrow flying into his left thigh.

"I'll kill you!" he screamed as he stumbled and almost fell. "I'll break your goddamn neck!" He continued to limp towards Rosaline, blinded by rage. She pulled something else out of her quiver, then. And even in the almost-darkness, I recognised it as Juliet's sword. Rosaline must've taken it for just such an emergency as this.

"Corin, stop!" I cried. But it was too late; Rosaline plunged the sword straight into the left side of his chest and the tip of the blade poked through his back. Corin collapsed to the ground and I fell down onto my knees beside him. He pulled the sword out and tossed it away before his arms went limp.

Rosaline picked up the sword and said, "Remember this, lover boy. When your little girlfriend dies at dawn, you'll have nobody to blame but yourself." She stuffed both her weapons into her quiver and raced off into the night.

"Let's get him inside. Quick!" Antonio said, coming over and sliding his hands underneath my shivering brother. He lifted Corin up (though he was clearly struggling to hold him by himself) and we all clambered into the elevator.

I stared in the direction of the camp as 9 turned the crank and took us up. I could just about see the wall illuminated by a faint yellow glow from the fire pit. And if I looked really closely, I could just make out Rosaline sprinting in the direction of it.

The weird thing was that even though she stumbled and almost tripped a few times because it was dark, she never voluntarily stopped running the whole time I was watching her. Not even to catch her breath. I mean, our kind don't really need to breath since we have no lungs but we _can _get a little light-headed if we stay underwater a long time or run like that without taking a break.

The elevator jammed in place and we all walked slowly across the rope bridge and back into the tree house.

"Put him in my room," I said to Antonio. "He can sleep in my bed, tonight." Antonio nodded and 9 went to get the necessary supplies from his own room.

"Can you fix him?" 7 asked worriedly once everything was ready for the operation.

"I don't know," Ant replied. "But he's lucky; that sword almost pierced his heart. I think he might've made it worse by pulling it out, though." He carefully removed the arrow in Corin's leg and went to work on the chest wound.

7 and I stood off to the side and watched the men stitch him up. Viola sat in a chair in the corner with her head bowed and fists clenched, muttering a series of Italian cuss words that I'm _really _glad I didn't know the meaning of.

"He should be fine," Antonio informed me when it was all done. "If you like, you can keep an eye on him while he's asleep." I nodded. "OK, then. You holler if it seems to you that something's not right."

**~The Tribe~**

I didn't sleep at all that night. I sat at Corin's bedside, stroking his face and checking his pulse every now and again to make sure he was still alive. He was lying so still and the blade had entered so close to his heart that I was scared he was going to die.

And speaking of which, I couldn't stop thinking about what might be going through Portia's head right about now. Was she sending her last living thoughts to us? Did she regret that kiss Corin had told me about? Or was she trying to get to sleep for all it was worth?

If she blamed me for this and I was able to know she did, I wouldn't have blamed her. After all, I was the one who'd left the camp and put us all in this situation to begin with. Now, Corin was going to lose the woman he loved and it was all my fault.

A few hours before dawn, I suddenly stopped feeling tired from not sleeping and felt wide-awake, instead. I grabbed my tuning fork, left the room with a final glance at my brother and headed up to the roof.

_Just because I made a mistake_, I thought, _doesn't mean I can't fix it._


	24. Chapter 24

…**I got nothing. I don't know where most of my introductory material is these days (if I ever had any to begin with, that is).**

**Iris' POV in this chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 24Iris' POV

I left my note in 7 and 9's room. I hadn't written much; just a few simple things to thank them for putting up with me and to tell them where I was going, what I was planning to do.

By the time the camp was directly ahead at the end of the path, the sky was bright orange, the greyish-white clouds lined with a pinkish-red tinge. It was the exact same sky that had been overhead as I'd entered the library for the very first time.

_I'm back again_, I thought towards the wall. At the foot of it, the fire pit was now just a smoking pile of ashes. And in front of the fire pit, there was a block of wood.

Suddenly, as I passed a small tree a few feet away from the entrance to the camp, I became aware of a white figure sitting there. It was Gertrude, her eyes wide, her limbs lying splayed in various positions.

I crept closer but it wasn't until I was kneeling right beside her that I finally noticed the dent in the back of her skull. And judging from the matching crater in the trunk of the tree, she had been thrown.

"I'm sorry," I said, pushing her hair away from her face and tucking it in its usual position behind her shoulders. Then, I carefully edged her away from the tree, laid her down on her back, pushed her legs together and folded her hands over the spot where her chest met her stomach.

I couldn't get over how tiny she looked in death. Wishing I could take the body back with me now, I stroked her cheek and whispered goodbye before standing up and continuing on towards the camp. I crouched behind the circle of rubble close to the break.

As if on cue, Hamlet stepped outside, his cape fluttering slightly in the wind. The sun peaked over the horizon and he turned towards the entrance of his throne room as the top of the buildings behind the wall caught the first rays of light.

"Bring out the prisoner," he called into the throne room. He moved to one side as Rosaline shoved Portia through the curtain onto her knees. Her hands were tied behind her back and Rosaline was pointing an arrow at her spine.

"My," said Rosaline, "what a lovely morning for an event such as this." Portia got to her feet, raised her head and smiled.

"Yeah. Nice, isn't it?" she said.

"Quiet, you!" Rosaline snapped. She kicked Portia in the back of the knee and marched her over to the wooden block. Still smiling, Portia calmly knelt down and rested her chin on top of it.

"Juliet!" Rosaline called towards their shared hut. "It's time!" A moment later, her twin emerged with her sword in her hand and went to stand behind Portia, yawning.

"Have you anything to say before we get started?" Hamlet asked, walking round and standing in front of Portia.

"Only that I'm not sorry," she replied. "And that you underestimated me; I love Corin more than I've ever feared you."

"No. It was _you _who underestimated _me_. You should have feared me more!" He bent down a little and slapped her across the face.

It was just a flabby slap; it couldn't have hurt her. But there was something horribly degrading about the action. It was like watching someone kick a dog.

"Hey!" I yelled, jumping up. "Leave her alone!" Hamlet whipped round and put on a smile while Portia's disappeared.

"Ah. Iris," he said. "Good to see you again." He looked around for a second or two. "Where's everybody else?"

"It's just me today," I replied. Hamlet's smile grew wider, as if that amused him.

"Why's that?" he asked. "Are you the only one who decided to do the sensible thing and surrender? Or did they all decide to surrender and elect you as their representative?"

"Neither. I'm here because…because…I've come to stop you, Hamlet." He laughed and stepped away from Portia, standing off to the right of the block.

"And how do you expect to do that? What can one little girl do?" He waved a hand at Juliet, who was staring at the ground with a frown. "Proceed with the execution." I moved into the middle of the break in the circle of rubble.

"Jules, listen to me," I said, looking at her with pleading eyes. "You don't have to do this."

"Oh, but she does," said Hamlet. "She is a delicate creature. Delicate, but obedient."

As if to prove him right, Juliet raised her sword and exhaled heavily. Portia shot a glance at me before closing her eyes.

"No! No! No! No!" I screamed. "Please, Jules!"

She brought the sword down and sliced clean through…the rope binding Portia's hands together.

As Portia looked at her palms in surprise, Juliet threw down her sword, kicked Hamlet in the shin and shoved Rosaline backwards with what looked like all her strength. She turned to Portia just as her sister fell on the ground.

"Run!" she shouted. Portia immediately leapt to her feet, raced around the block and came straight towards me. I grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

"I am, now," Portia replied. We let go of each other and I picked up my tuning fork before we looked back over to Hamlet and the twins.

"Why, you!" he yelled at Juliet, who scowled and folded her arms indignantly. "How dare you defy me! You, of all people, should know the penalty for these sorts of actions by now!"

"He does have a point," Rosaline agreed, starting to get slowly to her feet. "Why, Jules? Why would you…"

"I am a delicate creature," said Juliet smugly. Grunting and growling with rage, Hamlet bent down and picked up the sword.

"Hamlet, don't!" Portia screamed.

But he did; he lifted the sword above his head and it went right through the centre of Juliet's chest.

"JULES!" Rosaline ran back towards her master and sister with her arms outstretched.

But it was too late; the sword had come out through Juliet's back and the small round box that served as her soul container was impaled on the end of it. Her top half slumped over the sword and Hamlet drew it out.

Juliet's body flopped backwards onto the dirt as Hamlet, still with an angry expression on his face, practically ripped the soul container from her weapon and tossed it away.

Rosaline slid onto her knees beside her sister and carefully examined the ugly wound in Juliet's chest. She gave a sob and her face crumpled as soon as she realised there was nothing she could do.

Portia stood gasping for air beside me. My tuning fork just dropped onto the dirt again as I stared at the body wide-eyed, mouth agape. I couldn't believe it.

_Oh, no_, said my brain as it did the crying for me. _Not Jules._

Not Jules. Not the girl who had been one of my first friends, who had blatantly refused both to track down Vi and Ant and to kill Portia, who I had consoled after Rosaline volunteered to take her punishment for the former of these two things.

Rosaline looked up at Hamlet with an expression I'd never seen her wear before; one of heartbreak and bewilderment, as if she couldn't fathom the idea of even Hamlet sinking to such a level as this.

"Trust me," Hamlet spat with an uncaring expression on his face. "I did you a favour, for God's sake."

Rosaline gasped and looked down at her sister's body again. Finally, she raised her head again and screamed.

Rage burned in my non-existent veins and made my limbs shake. I started to run, arms outstretched towards Hamlet as I hurled myself at him.

And then, my fingers closed around his throat.


	25. Chapter 25

As you can probably guess, the end is coming up very soon. In fact, the epilogue's three chapters away.

But I don't think I'll bother with writing out the acknowledgements in a separate chapter this time. I'll just make some quick comments in the introduction that comes with the epilogue and that'll be it.

Well, it's Iris' POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!

_Chapter 25_

Iris' POV

I shook Hamlet's head back and forth with my hands. I hadn't intended to do that at first; I'd just wanted to keep my fingers round his neck until he stopped breathing. But now, it was instinctive and I couldn't stop. Didn't want to.

Then, he lashed out with his claws and cut halfway through the waistband of my skirt. That managed to distract my attention enough for him to break loose, get behind me and kick me forward onto the dirt.

I landed on my stomach and looked up.

_Go for the wall! Go for the wall! Go for the wall! _ordered my brain. I hadn't expected anything that had just happened but I didn't hesitate. I pushed myself up and ran full speed to the foot of the wall.

"Yes! That's it!" Portia yelled. "Keep going, Iris!" I could hear Hamlet behind me but I did as she said. I almost didn't pay attention to whether or not my feet were going into the gaps between the bricks and I nearly slipped a few times.

I didn't think I could hear Hamlet climbing up underneath me but it barely mattered. If he so much as _dared _to try and pull me down, I'd just kick him in the face. Finally, I was at the top.

Something knocked me sideways onto my back and then, four long claw marks appeared on my stomach. I glanced down at them and up again to see Hamlet standing there, snorting with rage, cape blowing in the wind.

I rolled over onto my stomach and started crawling away from him, desperately trying to get back on my feet again. I felt his claws rip a hole in my back before they did the same to my upper right arm and yanked at an exposed wire there until it snapped.

I swivelled round and managed to stagger back up, clutching at the wound on my arm. Hamlet raised his right hand again before a spearhead came out of nowhere and cut a deep notch into its side.

As he grabbed at it and yelled in pain, a white shape leapt between him and me and managed to grab the spear before it fell down the side of the wall that faced the buildings.

"7?" I gasped.

"That's right," she replied. Hamlet let go of his hand and glared fiercely at her.

"You again?" he roared. "I've had it with you!" As he started towards her, 7 jabbed him in the stomach with the end of the pole. Hard. Then, she rushed forward and pushed him back with the middle part.

Hamlet staggered a little but didn't fall over the side. He fell onto his front with a scream just as he tried to come back in our direction. Standing behind him was Portia and the sword that had end Juliet's life was sticking out of his back.

"Are you both OK?" she asked, stepping over Hamlet.

"Yeah, I'm fine," 7 replied, shooting a glance at me. "But it doesn't look like Iris is in great shape."

Suddenly, Hamlet regained his composure, stood up and grabbed the end of Portia's cape. He dragged her backwards towards himself while she dug her fingertips into the wall and screamed.

"Wretched whore!" he bellowed. "I should've killed you myself to begin with!" He yanked her up onto her feet and clamped his left hand around her neck.

_How can he do that with a sword in his back?_ I thought, preparing myself to push past 7 to get to them.

"If you hurt her, I swear-" 7 started to growl.

"YOU'LL DO NOTHING!" Hamlet raised his right hand, curling it into a claw that pointed downwards towards Portia's heart. She dug her fingertips into his hands, trying to prise his fingers from her neck.

Before Hamlet could deliver the deathblow, an arrow whistled through the air and struck him in the back of his raised hand. He let Portia go and she crawled backwards away from him, screaming again.

I jumped over her and 7, running towards Hamlet. At the other end of the wall, Rosaline whipped out another arrow.

"I'll hold him!" I yelled, immediately understanding what she was trying to do.

Hamlet pulled the arrow out of his hand and spun round towards her. I slid my arms around his front and pulled him towards me. He struggled but Rosaline whistled out of the corner of her mouth and drew his attention back to her.

"Goodnight, sweet prince," she said, her voice dripping with spite. Letting out a breath, she loosed the arrow and sent it flying deep into the centre of his neck.

I released Hamlet and stumbled backwards away from him. Portia was tearing off her cape and head wire now and still screaming.

He dropped to his knees and halved the brief remainder of his life by yanking out the arrow and toppling over the side of the wall.

Portia stopped screaming and drew in a long, laboured breath. Rosaline sat down and half-sighed, dropping her bow.

"Iris, are you OK?" 7 asked. Without answering her, I turned to face the city as I had done for years on end and spread my arms wide. I jumped and my skirt flew up to slow my fall, as usual.

I landed on my feet and then, the rip in the waistband that had been getting bigger during my time on the wall finally got big enough to make the skirt fall off altogether.

I watched sadly as Gertrude's last gift fluttered to the ground and took a step out of it. I stood on something and it gave way under my foot with a loud crunch.

Hamlet was lying sprawled at my feet. And it seemed I'd broken three of what were once his fingers by stepping on his left hand. I staggered back away from his corpse as I realised I'd just helped it to look exactly like that of that "1" guy in 9's drawings.

That was when the weight of my all-nighter came back and joined with the weight of my wounds. Particularly the one on my arm. What had that wire been? Had Hamlet severed something important?

I suddenly noticed 9 and Antonio standing near Juliet's body. I tried to walk towards them but I was exhausted and just fell down onto my front. My eyes closed, though I tried my hardest to resist it.

Just like when I'd realised that Rosaline had taken 7, all I could think was, _No, no, no, no, no._


	26. Chapter 26

Saw the teaser trailer for "Hunger Games: Catching Fire" recently and guess what? Christopher Plummer's daughter Amanda has a role in it!

…**Oh, wait! I've got to say something really, really random 'cause I haven't since Chapter 23, haven't I?**

…**OK, then. Um…COOKIES!**

Chapter 26Iris' POV

I woke up back in my room at the tree house. Corin was standing by the vase in the corner and I shrank back away from him when he noticed me watching him.

I knew he _must _hate me, now. Even if Portia was all right and Hamlet was out of the picture, Juliet and Gertrude were gone. His family was dead. Because of me.

He came over and hugged me the same way he had after he'd snapped at me, beginning to weep as he did so. But this time, we comforted each other.

Then, Viola entered and I wept with her, too.

"In all my years as a seer, I never would've guessed we'd lose Gertrude and Juliet like this," she said when she grew calm enough to speak. "But then, I suppose Juliet dying in a way such as that was the only thing that ever could've completely turned Rosaline against Hamlet."

"Are the others all right?" I asked. Corin, who had been watching us from the corner, nodded.

"Most of them are upset but otherwise, they're OK," he said. "Rosaline locked herself in a room as soon as we got back here and now, she's not talking to anyone. You've been asleep for about a day, at the most."

"Poor soul." Despite the fact that she was obviously talking about Rosaline, Viola's tone sounded sincere. "One day, perhaps, she will be able to make atonement for what she's done. But now, we should leave her to mourn. We owe her that much."

The rest of the day passed very slowly after that. Corin went in and out of the room, as did most of the rest;

7 told me that running off to the camp on my own was a very brave and stupid thing to do. 9 said that while he would be taking his family home soon, I (along with the others) could come visit or even stay whenever I wanted. 4 came in for a quick chat because she could hobble now and wanted to see me. Antonio, who had clearly been burying his grief in his magnet, informed me that he'd burned down the camp (along with Hamlet's corpse). Portia smiled and suggested that maybe Rosaline would finally be able to make friends with some of us.

Finally, 3 came in sometime as the sun was going down. I was allowed to walk by then and was stroking the petals of his flower when he entered.

"Hey," I said, hugging him as he came over. "I talked to your sister earlier. I'm glad she's started to walk a little again."

_Could you come with me for a minute?_ he asked. I nodded and he led me into his room. 4 wasn't in her bed, so maybe she was still out stretching her legs.

_A few of us went with Antonio when he burned down the camp_, 3 flickered. _I found your tuning fork, but I didn't think you'd want it. So, I picked _this _up for you, instead. _He reached under his bed and pulled out a folded piece of fabric. It fell open as I took it into my hands.

"3!" I gasped quietly. 3 had sewn my ruined skirt back together.

_Go ahead_, he flickered. _Put it on._ I twirled slowly once I'd done so. Then, I hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek like I had the other night.

"Thanks, 3," I said. "I wish I could give you something-"

_It's fine. You don't need to. _He paused and thought for a moment. _But you know, you could come back to the library with us. 9 said you could._

"Well…" I shuffled my feet a little. "I don't know. I mean, it's not that I don't like you guys or anything. But…my Tribe…Jules and Gertrude…" 3 nodded then, so I guess he understood.

_Well, if you change your mind_, he said as he showed me to the door, _you know where to find us._


	27. Chapter 27

Just one more, just one more, just one more, just one more…

…**Huh? Oh, sorry! I didn't see you there! *nervous laugh* Don't mind me. I was just…talking to myself.**

**Anyway, Corin's POV in this chapter. RAR and enjoy!**

Chapter 27Corin's POV

Thin, red-haired stranger. That pretty much described Rosaline to a T for the two months following what happened at the camp.

She thanked Iris for "helping with Hamlet" and asked her how she was but that was the only effort she made to communicate with anyone. She stopped wearing the bandage on her right arm and waddled around with her scars on display. Ant even asked if she'd like to borrow his magnet to see if it would help at all but she just said "Eh" and walked away.

We all decided we didn't want another leader and just settled for living like 9's clan did; as something of a little communal group without an established government. And it quickly became clear that it really _was _better that way.

9 talked me through how his clan's talisman worked and how we could use it to release the souls that were still in the bodies of Juliet and Gertrude. I decided against the whole thing; I knew Jules' soul container had been damaged beyond repair and it didn't seem right to do it for just one person.

So, we buried the bodies at the house of the man who had created us. We buried the talisman that had given us life with them, too. According to Viola, it was basically a carbon copy of 9's, so we didn't really need to keep it.

Time passed. Life became gradual, peaceful and monotonous again. Except without the threat of punishments hanging over our heads. At first, every second that ticked by ached for all of us. Like the pulse of blood behind a bruise. Within about a month, though, it began to ease off just a little bit.

Viola spent her days on the roof, meditating as usual. She knew full well her visions would probably never become eventful again but she didn't care. It was routine, a part of who she was.

Antonio's dependency on that little "magnet problem" of his swiftly increased thanks to our losses. He kept saying how he'd been cutting back recently but frankly, I don't think he was even trying _before _Jules and Gertrude died. But at least, Ant didn't let his depression get in the way of his marriage with Vi.

Portia and I grew closer than ever before. Although she swore she'd never loved Hamlet even one little bit, I still wanted to give her time to get over that horrible marriage, at first. But when she had nightmares (and trust me, she had them a _lot_), I made sure my arms were always there to comfort her. And eventually, I gave in and allowed my lips to be there, too.

And as for Iris…well, let's just say she was bored all the time. Matter of fact, she stayed in bed longer than even Rosaline most mornings. So, I guess it's a good thing that she at least made an effort to talk to us or we'd be in trouble.

Sometimes, 7 or 9 or even one of the twins would swing by for a visit but for the most part, we didn't return them. They understood; we needed time to get used to Antonio being the new clan medic or Rosaline stroking her own hair because it was the biggest resemblance she had to Jules.

Weirdly enough, Iris seemed to burst into life whenever the male twin, 3, paid us a visit. They got on very well together and every time Iris' face lit up at the sight of him entering the tree house, Viola would always turn to me and say, "You see? I told you our sorellina would benefit from her friendship with this boy, didn't I?"

While I couldn't completely understand what she said (mostly because she'd never told me anything like that in the first place), I _could _admit that she was right in a way; 3 made Iris a lot less lethargic by just being around her.

One day, most of us were gathered up on the roof. Even Rosaline. Iris, however, was still in her room and we could hear her thumping around a bit down there.

"You know," Portia said to me, "the last time 7 was here, she asked me why I climbed the wall and tried to defend her and Iris from Hamlet."

"And what did you tell her?" I asked.

"I said, 'I promised that no further harm would come to you on my watch. And I meant it.' And that sort of reminded her of her part of the deal; that she'd help us to liberate our Tribe. She seemed glad that she was able to keep her end of the bargain, no matter how little or how much she may have done to fulfil it."

Iris finally stopped clanging and came up onto the roof.

"Hey, Iris."

"Portia." Iris returned the greeting with a hasty nod and looked at me. "Corin…I've been doing some thinking lately and well, I think I might go visit the library clan. Maybe even stay with them for a little while."

I raised an eyebrow and she quickly added, "9 said I could. I wouldn't give them any bother, and I'll be back before you know it. So…is that OK?"

"Erm…well, sure. If you really want to. That's fine," I said. "Just make sure you be good for them, OK?"

"Yeah. I will. Will you guys be OK while I'm gone?"

"Course, we will. We're all perfectly capable of looking after ourselves, so the five of us should be fine on our own."

"Good," said Iris, nodding. "I guess I'll…be seeing you, then." She came a little closer and hugged me.

"Yeah. I'll see you later," I replied, hugging her back. She let go and turned to leave but then, Rosaline moved to block her exit. The redhead stood glaring down at her with a sullen expression.

Then (and this almost made even Viola have a heart attack), she threw her arms around Iris and embraced her. Warmly.

"Au revoir, flower girl," she said as Iris started heading for the ladder again. Before she went down, my little sister turned and gave Rosaline and a smile and a thumbs-up.

"Hasta la vista. Rose." The redhead returned the thumbs up and with that, Iris disappeared through the hole. We all crowded round the edge of the roof to watch her make her descent to the ground below.

"Besides archery, I don't think I've ever had that many hobbies," Rosaline said as Iris started running towards the library and we all moved back to our places. "And since I got rid of my bow, I guess now's as good a time as ever to start looking for one."

There was no acid in her tone. And all the meanness and the superiority and the whining and the smug pleasure were gone from her face. In spite of the scars (not just on her arm but all over her body now), she looked like a very calm and pretty young lady.

"Maybe I should start by making something for the library clan. To say I'm sorry for everything I've done to them." Rosaline talked brightly to herself, lost in thought as she made her way down to her own room. "But I think it should be something I'll enjoy making for them at the same time. Hmm…I've always loved patchwork quilts…"

"It's like she's a whole different person," Antonio commented. "It's actually kinda scary."

"Speaking of scary," said Portia, "I've noticed that Iris hasn't really spoken to me since what went down at the camp." She spun on her heel to talk to me a little more directly.

"Seriously, Corin. Even though Iris hasn't been nearly as antisocial as Rosaline…well, you saw the way she responded when I said hello to her just now. I'm starting to think your sister hates me now, though I don't know why."

"Nah," I said with a smile. "She just needs to get used to the idea of me having a girlfriend." Portia shot me a weird look and I scoffed at myself. "Great! Now, I've scared you."

She laughed and said, "After everything we've gone through for the past twelve years, you actually think you can scare me now?" I continued to smile and took her hand.

"At last," said Viola from behind us, "it seems we are finally beginning to properly unite together and build ourselves a better future.

"True, the losses of Gertrude and Juliet have been crippling to all of us. And it seems bereavement is, perhaps, the most natural part of life we can ever experience. To feel sadness is to live, but as long as you're living, you never know when it can all change for the better."

Antonio approached her, slid his arm around her waist and affectionately drew her close. Still holding Portia's hand, I turned and beamed at the seer.

"Well, Viola," I said, "I think I can safely say…that no one ever could have said that better."


	28. Epilogue

**Phew! Glad I can finally wrap this up.**

**Anyway, thanks to everyone who favourited this story on either this site or deviantART and who reviewed or commented on it even once. And special thanks to my fellow writer/part-time mentor, Freida Right, who always manages to review my updates on this site (no matter how horrible they may be).**

**Next time, get ready for a blast from the past as we dive right into "Soulbound: The Remake". Demon Llama Nerd, out.**

Epilogue

**3's POV**

Signs that summer was approaching were all around; the greenery seemed brighter, the water in the pool looked clearer and more inviting than usual and the rocks felt warm against your back when you lay down on one of them.

I wandered around the courtyard with my hood pulled down. The grass swayed in the slight breeze and the flowers danced among them, wheels of colour against a sea of green.

Suddenly, there was the jangle of a small bell from over by the gate and a quiet female voice apologised, "Hello? Anyone out here?"

I peered round the legs of a statue and saw Iris slowly entering the courtyard. I ran towards her and greeted her with a hug.

"Hi, 3," she said. "You're looking well. How's everything round here?"

_Yeah. We're all fine_, I flickered. _4's able to keep up with me when I'm running now. So, what brings _you _here?_

"Well…you know how 9 said I could visit anytime I wanted?" she asked. "I decided to take him up on his offer. I might even stay a few days if he says I can."

_I don't see why he wouldn't. You should be able to stay with us with no trouble._

"If you say so. And again, I'm sorry I had to throw out your flower. But…you know, it died."

_It's OK. Cut flowers like that don't last long, anyway. And we can always get you another one._ Iris nodded and then, suddenly smiled deviously. She raised a hand and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Tag! You're it!" she laughed. She ran away towards a statue and I followed her, grinning all the way.

We played in the sun like that for ages, chasing each other in and out of the grass. I think we were pretty evenly-matched when it came to how hard we were to tag. Iris was a little better at not bumping into statues, though.

Eventually, we both got tired and flopped down beside each other on the warm sidewalk.

I looked over at Iris as she stared up at the sky. I didn't know how to fix the damage Hamlet had done to her and her clan. And I don't think anyone did. All I knew that like it had for me and my family, time would move on and help her to forget.

"I owe you thanks, 3," she said. "I've been living in high-security conditions all my life but I've never felt safe. Because as far as I was concerned, living my life with Hamlet around was just about as dangerous as roughing it out here in the wilderness."

We sat up and I took her hand with a smile.

_Well, you're safe _now, I flickered. She chuckled and I shot her a weird look. _What? You don't believe me?_

"No, it's not that," she replied. "It's just…back in the War, I said those words to myself many times. But now, hearing them from you…it's the first time I actually believe them."

She smiled back at me and then, suddenly, pulled me closer and gave me a big kiss on the lips. Almost instinctively, I slid my arms around her and returned the gesture.

When we finally pulled away from each other, we stood up and took each other's hands again.

_Now, _I flickered, _what do you say we go tell the others you're here? _She beamed widely at the suggestion.

And Iris said, "Sounds like a good idea to me."

**The End**


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